


Daddy's Little Boy

by WildTama



Series: Creation Myth [2]
Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: All the Demon Kings can't get enough of Rin, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Azazel and Shirou are a thing, Canon-Typical Violence, Consensual Non-Consent, Eternal Tag through Hell, Fujimoto Shirou's A+ Parenting, Gen, In the form of saving people, Movie AU, OFC's tend to die, Other, Rin ends up in Gehenna, Rin is IT, Satan had a bad childhood, Satan is understandablely ecstatic, Satan is understandably upset about Shirou stealing his kids, Satan's A+ Parenting, Tarturus is a Place, That exists in Gehenna, That is a Jail, They get better, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Wait till they meet Darth Yukio, When you share Blood with Eldritch GODS shit happens, Yuri Egin was a Magnificent Bastard, no really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2018-10-23 16:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10722648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildTama/pseuds/WildTama
Summary: In which, Rin didn't make it off the Phantom Train in time...and ended up in Gehenna. The Grigori was not amused. Satan on the other hand- "Aww, come on, smile for Daddy!" "Urusei, baka-Ossan!"*You do not have to have seen the movie to read this*





	1. On the Highway- I mean, Train Ride to Hell

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted on Fanfiction.net
> 
> If your looking for evil-I-can-only-torture-people!Satan, this is not the right place. Please turn left at BadWriter's Lane, walk down the Ican'tbebotheredtowriteadecentcharacter Blvd and you end up at Shittystory Street.
> 
> All of the character's in this story have canon typical characterizations, and for those of you who are confused-
> 
> Rin is not a spineless woobie, Satan is kinda of a dork, Shirou was a great DAD but a terrible person who made Mistakes as a younger dude, Yukio is not a well put-together person-He needs a fucking therapist and Mephisto is literally that one guy at the family reunion who is trying to stop his family from ripping each other to pieces. And the world in this case.
> 
> So if you are looking for a story about Rin getting tortured into a spineless, mindless puppet by evil overlord Satan...this is not that. The Demon Kings are not Good guys, the Vatican are not the Good Guys, hell, God is not a good...person...thing. But they are all alive, as PEOPLE, with free will and I will show this. You'll love these guys, you'll also hate them.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Chapter One: On the Highway- I Mean Train Ride to Hell**

* * *

**_11:56 PM; November 23, 2013; True Cross Academy Town; Phantom Train…_ **

* * *

“You’re wrong Four-eyes! An Exorcist’s job is to help others!”

Teeth gritted in annoyance and anger the navy-haired teen glared at his younger twin but was soon interrupted by the tendrils of pinkish red goo that shot past them. The Phantom Train they were on seemed intent on making them its dinner.

Rin’s argument with his twin would have to wait. _Kuso!_ Holding his sword’s red-colored fuduka out in front of him, he swung, bashing the strands trying to either knock him off the top of the train or clasp onto him—probably to squeeze him to death.

Unfortunately, he saw the pistol his brother was shooting go flying over the side of the train and down to the depths below them. “Yukio!”  Without hesitation, he lunged in front of his twin, Kurikara at the ready. There was no way he was letting the bastard Demon train hurt his brother!

Pulling out his other handgun, Yukio aimed ahead while replying with a breathless yell, “It’s still early. This is happening because you did something unnecessary!”

A sharp pain like a knife digging into his chest caused the young ExWire to grip his sword’s fuduka tighter. It _wasn’t_ unnecessary dammit, he wanted to shout, but instead the front of the train rearing up captured his attention.

And it was one ugly son of a bitch. The paper with “Gehenna” written on its nose—that was what the front of a train was called right?—was almost completely covered in the reddish-pink mess that probably constituted as skin for the ugly bastard. Its smile just made the blue-eyed male want to knock its teeth out. _What in the-! Eh… It looks hungry…_

The overhead line and its panto-graph started to spark as it was stretched and forced against the electrical wire creating an off-putting crackle to the already thunderous screech of train wheels mashing against the rails below them.

Annoyed at the constant barrage of feelers, Rin yelped, “What the hell is this?!” More clumped vines attacked, forcing Rin back away from the head of the _thing_ that had appeared out of the front of the train. His fuduka was starting to rip and shred thanks to him using his katana as a baseball bat.

“It’s getting violent because the ghosts were taken away from it!” The sound of the brunette’s gun firing echoed in the already loud commotion-filled air. The shriek of the wind whipping past them made it even harder to hear.

He reloaded and kept firing, only pausing at the voice of their blonde-headed friend, Shiemi.

“Rin, I’m done here!” Holding on to the Japanese Lantern and her tiny Greenman, she peeked past the growing mass of Demonic flesh from the cabin below.

Rin and his brother whipped around staring at the girl but the gummy, cord-like tendrils attempting to harm them both soon distracted the older twin as he deflected whatever came their way.

Yukio on the other hand, seeing the Demon advance towards the girl also, shot down at the opening of the passenger car, causing the mass to splinter and explode slightly into purple, bloody chunks. Jumping down he continued to fire, backing up into the train car with his student behind him.

She huddled with her summon and the captured ghosts in her arms only speaking to voice her concern when the mass clawed closer to them. “Yuki-chan-”

He turned slightly, gun still held at the ready, a grim look plastered on his face even as the bulk of the Phantom Train covered the front passenger door. “This is an emergency. Let’s hurry back to the rail car!”

Right before they were cut off he yelled up towards his older sibling, “Nii-san, you hurry up too!” Then the opening was fully blocked and he resumed firing.

Rin watched them retreat out of the corner of his eye, still able to hear the “bang, bang” of the taller male’s gun going off below. However, he didn’t have time to respond to his brother because the oozing Demonic blob that was trying to kill him had enveloped the rest of the front car. “He said to hurry, but at this rate…”

Realizing he needed to get out of there or Exorcise the Phantom Train, Rin struggled with the strands of goo before one wrapped around the front of his Koumaken rendering him practically immobile. He had to get his sword unstuck. _Son of a-_

That was when the ugly face of the Phantom Train turned its attention to him fully. A swarm of Coal Tar swirled around the headlight that looked like a grotesque parody of an eye.

Ripping his sword from its confinement—and letting Kurikara tear completely free of its bag—he clasped the hilt, growling, “I guess I just gotta cut this thing down.” He moved to jump off and into the air but the unstable mass below him gave away, causing him to slip.

It didn’t waste a second in trapping him within its grasp and he fell forward, arms dipping slightly into the gooey exterior of the Phantom Train. Sitting back up he quickly found to his horror that his foot was stuck and slowly sinking into the bulk of the Demon train. “Ugh! Shit, let go!” Hand still on his sword he ripped it from its sheathe; or at least tried to, but found when he braced himself for the fall forward that his hands and Koumaken had been dragged under as well.

One foot submerged and his sword hands now useless, Rin began to panic. He only succeeded in causing himself to fall further downwards; the glob of flesh rising to engulf what was left of his free leg to the hip and pinning his tail to his side.

Chest restricting at the feeling of being buried alive, a snatch of memory from **_that_** one fateful night appeared, reminding him of his own powerless struggle in the pool of disembodied heads. Teeth gritting, he tightened his grip on his weapon’s hilt, grateful at its solid presence below the jelly-like mass keeping him captive. _Like hell-!_

Shoving back against the train as best as he could he tried to rip his Koumaken free, and for just a second he felt the glob around his arms give. _-I’m just going to give up!_

He felt a spark of fire but then, with a lurch he felt his prison relinquish its hold on him. And then he was falling down, down, down.

Kurikara dropped from his grasp and he tumbled face first onto a solid landing, head knocking against something violently in his decent.

Sitting up with a curse word snarled from his lips, he felt whatever he was laying on heave violently and his hands came back sticky. Wiping his palms on his pant leg, he rubbed his head where he had hit something pretty damn hard on his way down and wiggled his nose, a slight whine catching in his throat. Landing on one’s face huuuuurt! _Ow…_ Vision a bit blurry from the blow to his head and his tears of pain he wondered vaguely if he had a concussion of sorts.

Squinting in the dim light, Rin’s sight straightened but he noticed to his dismay that his surroundings did not. _What in the world…_ The floor bubbled menacingly, the wood warped in impossible swirls. The walls and ceiling weren’t much better, the icky reddish-purple stuff that made up the Phantom Train pulsating disturbingly around him. _Where am I?!_

Then he noticed the train controls. Flickering brightly, he watched as levers moved on their own, twisted into disgusting-looking parodies of their usual shapes, the buttons and switches now sporting teeth and colored in toxic arrays of green, pink and yellow. A low chattering sound like teeth gnashing together buzzed low in his ears, just barely out of his ability to understand what was being said.

The operator’s lone chair in the compartment was twisted like a pipe cleaner and mimicking a melting ice-cream cone, one that could have probably passed for a torture chamber device as well. The teeth sticking out of the distorted cushion made the image even worse. The way it snapped at him like the handle of the train’s caboose made him glad he hadn’t fallen on top of it.

Face falling into the “disturbed beyond belief” category the more he looked around, Rin stumbled to his feet, feeling the not-so-minute vibration of the train tracks rushing past the train at an insane speed. Every second or so the floor would wobble almost sending the ExWire back on his face after he regained his footing. _The cab? So I’m still at the front of the train?_

**_ “At exactly midnight, the Phantom Train will reveal its true form in order to return to Gehenna.” _ **

Remembering the explanation his brother had given before the mission began, the Demonic teen’s tail shot straight up into the air and he stumbled into action moving over to where his sword had been dropped. _I have to stop this train; Yukio and Shiemi are still on board!_

Catching a glimpse of the train tracks outside via the partially uncovered train window Rin realized if he didn’t stop the train then it was a distinct possibility they were all headed for hell. He shifted into a low stance, drawing his sword in the confined space of the room without hesitation. Either way he was going to stop the damn train whether it wanted to be or not!

* * *

**_11:59 PM; Inside the Phantom Train…_ **

* * *

“BANG, BANG!”

The train straps had come alive and were snapping at them when they came close, spraying purple saliva everywhere before the bullets penetrated their dangling bodies, causing them to disintegrate into white chunks.

Moving down the aisle awkwardly with a gun in one hand—for he was more familiar with wielding two guns at once and his other hand was partially sprained—Yukio made his way towards the rail car slowly, his gun moving back and forth between targets. In his calm panic, he glanced at his wristwatch noting the time with more than just a little hint of worry on his lips and his voice. “Thirty more seconds!”

As if sensing the Exorcist’s intent the inside of the train car warped, the seats and floor distorting every which way. The pinkish-red mass surged around them intending to engulf its prey before they could escape.

“Run!” Fearing for their lives the Middle First Class Exorcist stopped shooting and ran full tilt with his student towards the small opening still left leading out of the train’s caboose.

Scared and hugging the Japanese Lantern tight Shiemi ran as fast as she could stuttering out in her terror, “Nii-chan!” as if hearing her little summons’ voice would give her enough of a boost to make it out of the Phantom Train’s belly alive.

“Damn it!” Near the opening the bespectacled boy raised his handgun and fired again, breaking though the barrier that had been about to seal them inside. Just when he and Shiemi made it out the Demon clamped down on his arm forcing him to turn around and shoot far too close to his wrist for his liking. The miasma burned like nothing else, his sleeve ragged, but he was more grateful to be alive than begrudge a small injury. Even if it felt like his wrist had also been dislocated, sending a painful tinge up his arm every time he moved it.

“Yuki-chan, your arm…!” Anxiety-ridden, the shorter ExWire watched as eyes began to appear all over the hulking mass that used to be a train, shock silencing her worry for the male before her.

And then the whole train lurched violently before a harsh, grating scream rent the air forcing both of the teenagers to cover their ears.

“What on earth are you doing, Nii-san?!” Yukio whispered to himself, eyes wide in incredulity. Just what had his brother done?!

It was ten seconds past midnight.

* * *

**_12:00 AM; In the front cab…_ **

* * *

Rin’s Koumaken stabbed down into the control panel, sparks and purple blood spewing out, a black cloud of miasma signaling that his flames were burning straight through. The Phantom Train screeched painfully, tilting sideways and then jerking as if it had jumped its track but there was nowhere for it to go inside of the tunnel they had entered besides forward.

A flash of light stunned the ExWire for a second before he could move away from the train window and he shook his head, hoping to get rid of the sunspots.

Feeling the train start to decelerate—though at the speed they _had_ been going it was going to take a few minutes for it to come to a full stop—the navy-haired male smirked anyway, rubbing his eyes while wrenching his weapon out of the now fried controls before sheathing it. He noted how his surroundings were beginning to fade back to normal and breathed a sigh of relief. _Man, too close…_

He was about to turn around and make his way to the end of the train when he noticed how dark it was and wondered if they were gonna have to stay there without any light until the Recovery Squad came.

And then he peeked out the main windshield wondering what that bright light had been. Instead of the tunnel he had thought the train was in he’s eyes met dark reddish purple sand that looked nearly black in the low light. It stretched as far as the eye could see to either side of the train cab to his incredible astonishment. Visibility was almost nil thanks to what looked like a sandstorm.

However, he was more concerned with the fact that sand wasn’t red.

And the sky wasn’t a purplish blue either. Hadn’t he just been in a tunnel?!

That’s when he realized why it was so dark even with the tempest raging outside. An impossibly tall wall made of what looked like black stone stood out against the horizon, seeming to stretch outwards forever. And upwards. It towered over the landscape like a hulking mountain. The railroad tracks the train was on cut through the sand leading straight to a jagged hole in the wall’s mountain-sized face.

_Heh?_ Rin blinked, hand holding his sword limply in confusion.

Was he even in True Cross Academy Town anymore?

Before that train of thought could reach the obvious conclusion at the end of the tracks several bulging eyes snapped open across the floor, walls and ceiling. All of them focused on the lone child standing in the middle of the train car.

And then the train, still traveling at a ludicrous speed entered the tunnel in the side of the impossibly tall wall, plunging him and the still alive Phantom Train into an all-consuming darkness.

The Phantom Train then proceeded to crash.


	2. 9th Circle; Decay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gehenna...and the hub of all civilization, Pandemonium...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you guys gave an amazing first showing, thank you to all my Kudo-throwing fans and even those that just popped in for a quick peek, for those that were iffy about that Phantom Train/Wall tag, I know it's a bit risque but this is a GEN story nothing too squicky!~
> 
> P.S. For those that do NOT mind~ Be on the lookout for the OTHER mini-series. Those that just CAN'T or not EVEN need not show up for the participation award. OT3 all the way, and Rin is Launcher of a Thousand Ships love. That is all that need be said, yes? They are Demons(Alien-thing-thought-forms?)...deal with it.

**Chapter Two: 9th Circle; Decay**

* * *

**_12:38 AM; November 24, 2013; King of Rot’s Domain; Ninth Circle: Lower Tier…_ **

* * *

When Rin awoke, his eyes were bleary and a loud sound rung in his ears. Both of his senses faded in and out of comprehension until a swinging light somewhere above his head caught his attention. Reality deemed that the perfect time to smack into Rin’s consciousness rather roughly.

“Ugh-”

It was the faint buzz of Coal Tar that really hammered it home. Several of them floated around his body, more than one bumping against his cheek and tugging on his hair. The navy-haired Demon sluggishly waved them away while he squinted groggily, sending them a few yards back only for them to hover there chattering nonsensically in clusters.

_Where-?_ Finally blinking away the dizziness that assaulted him the moment he shifted; Rin, disoriented and more than a little lost, glanced around noting how dark his surroundings were. … _Am I?_ There didn’t seem to be any other lights besides the one hanging from the ceiling above him haphazardly, swinging back and forth, from where it hung desperately by its frayed cord.

The slight sparks that jumped from the light’s ragged cable alarmed him and dimly, the blue-eyed Demon realized that the buzzing sound heard in his ears was from the fizzing electrical line the light was hanging by after a few seconds of staring at it like a moron.

Blinking away the spots that appeared in his eyes from doing so, he began to glance around and ended up noticing that there was broken glass and rubble littering the floor and partially covering his legs. The glass was in tiny slivers and the rocks were but mere fragments in comparison to the slabs baring down on him to his right and piled above him. Grey dust speckled his school uniform; the dirt nearly turning the black jacket and pants an entirely different color. _Ah? A cave-in?_ A not-so slight breeze flung up some of the dirt on the ground, chilling the teen to the bone with its almost abnormal temperature for the time of the year.

Nose wrinkling from the dusty irritant that had been kicked up and threatened to send him into a coughing fit, he breathed shallowly and slowly, tugging his school jacket closer. The last thing he wanted was to sneeze and see his snot turn grey from all the damn dust covering him. _That would be so gross…_ He imagined he looked a lot like someone had ambushed him with baby powder…and a glass vase to the head. _I must look like a mess…_

Shaking his hair to clear off a majority of the dust and the glass shards he stood carefully, mindful of any possible injuries he had sustained when the stupid train crashed. At least, he remembered how everything had turned dark before finding himself tumbling head over heels several times while the loud screech of metal rending nearly burst his eardrums. There had been pain… And then nothing. Everything before that was a little fuzzy too, but he distinctly remembered his twin had been with Shiemi so they must be ok? Right?

He could feel some seriously bruised skin on his back and partially on his legs and arms but besides that, and a small lump on his head, there wasn’t any bloody gashes or broken bones to be found. Not that he was that worried if he had been injured, having the ability to regenerate was a kick-ass power after all. Even if the slight clothing damage his school uniform had sustained was annoying. He wasn’t made of money dammit!

With all the debris laying around—not to mention creepy, shredded clumps of what looked to be pieces of the Phantom train—he was probably lucky to have survived such an accident intact and without any limbs missing as it was. _Jeeze, I can here Four-eye’s now, “ **I can’t believe you crashed the train Nii-san! No manga for a month!”**_

Grumbling to himself the blue-eyed boy patted himself down fully as best as he could. Giving up after a minute or so, he was about to look for a way out of the rubble he was in when he had the bright idea to use his cellphone to contact his brother and tell him he was ok. When he dug it out of his pocket and saw the screen though, he gave up on that hope seeing how he had no reception at all and stuffing it back in his pants with a scowl, began looking for a way out of the small enclave he seemed to be in.

Spying an opening to his left at the top of a pile of brick and concrete, he stumbled up the thankfully not caved in part of what he assumed to be an underground tunnel on wobbly legs. Several larger rocks laid scattered about and mindful of the sharp looking metal rebar that stuck out of them—twisted and menacing looking—he steadied himself at the top before cautiously sliding down the small mountain of rubble.

The Phantom Train bunches splattered everywhere with eyes bulging out of their weird jelly-like sacks were severely starting to creep him out, seeing how they tracked his every movement. His tail curled into itself mirroring his feelings. _That’s just disturbing. Didn’t I Exorcise-_

It was then that he tripped over something on the unstable ground in the near unfathomable darkness. “Wahh-!” He was almost sent into a face-plant, hopping on one foot, body nearly horizontal with his arms wind-milling. He ended up managing to catch himself just in time though. Leaning on one of the larger pieces of what he thought used to be a part of the ceiling, he heard the object he had hit with his dress shoe skid down the rubble pile and hit the ground a yard away with a clinking sound. _Eh?_

Glancing down in the dark, he saw a glimmer of silver reflecting the little bit of light he was using to get by. Rin blinked slowly and then with a smile of elation recognized that it was his Koumaken that he had hit. “Ouwaaa~”

Jumping down from the piece of flat rubble he was on, he landed gracefully next to it onto a thankfully solid piece of ground, tail wagging in delight. _Shit, I can’t believe I forgot about it!_ Snatching it up off the floor Rin hugged it close not wanting to think about the scolding he would have endured from Shura for nearly losing his sword. Again.

A bit of shame ran through the navy-haired teen’s chest at his clumsiness and shoulders slumping he frowned—not pouted, because grown men don’t pout. _Kusojijii would have a heart attack if he knew all the times I’ve let it out of my sight…_

With a serious scowl coming across his face, he stood straight after tucking his prized possession into one of the loops of his dress slacks. Now that he had his Koumaken, he could look for a way out.

In the dim light of the tunnel he was in, he managed to make out where he was at least a little bit. It looked like a section of a very old train platform. Posters were plastered onto the walls and several ancient, plastic seats that were falling-to-pieces lined the curved brick. The whole place gave off a slightly damp, festering smell but it wasn’t bad enough for him to cover his sensitive nose. A normal Human probably would have only been able to smell must and not been bothered by it but there was no use for the Demonic teen to lament that fact.

Focusing back on his surroundings themselves instead of its scent, he shivered when another gust of wind whipped through the empty, crumpling tunnel. _My nose is probably beet red thanks to the cold!_ Adjusting his jacket again and tail coiling around his leg, he caught sight of one poster’s edge that was stuck to the wall flapping slightly and decided to look closer. In the low lighting, it was hard to make out what exactly it said. The few words he could see on them didn’t even look like Japanese to begin with.

Walking closer to get a better view—and maybe find a map that pointed towards the exit—Rin was about to lean closer to inspect it and the others splashed every which way on the brick but he didn’t have time to do so. At that moment, he heard something come from out of the blue some distance away to his right. Head whipping around at the noise that reached his sensitive hearing, Rin narrowed his eyes in suspicion, hand coming to grip the hilt of Kurikara. _What was that?_

It stopped but then started again and this time, since he was listening more closely he could make out a sort of rhythm to it. _People?_ He was too far away to make out what was being said but he could hear the echo and knew definitely after a few seconds of listening that it sounded like a person. _Could it be the rescue squad?_

Tail uncoiling and perking up at that thought, he released his grip on his blade and walked a bit towards the sound, his tail starting to wag slowly in his eagerness to get out of there. After a minute or two, he could begin to make out the bob of a fire lantern from where he was. Hopeful that it was indeed the backup Yukio had told Shiemi and him about earlier he moved faster wondering if they would be with them. No doubt, his brother was searching for him, worry lines creasing his twin’s face into an early retirement. _Che, he’s always working himself to death, that damn Moley Four-eyes…_

The pieces of the tunnel that must have come down during the crash obstructed his view, so much so that he was too busy climbing over and ducking underneath the mess to wonder why they had a lantern instead of a flashlight. _Jeeze, I hope that cheapskate clown doesn’t fine me for this… Yukio’s going to kill me either way though…_

Eyes widening once he finally caught sight of a figure in the dark, he trudged closer. Moving past a large slab of debris, he opened his mouth intent on calling out to them, hoping that he didn’t scare the crap out of them in doing so. He didn’t want a gun in his face after all—Yukio always yelled at him for sneaking up on him while he had his pistols out.

Just as he was about to speak though was when he saw that his “rescue squad” wasn’t quite…

Human.

With a silent gasp and widening of his eyes, he clamped his mouth shut and ducked behind the ruined pillar he had been behind just in time to go unnoticed by the Demon.

_That’s…_ The one holding the lantern was a conglomeration of Coal Tar complete with spindly arms and razor sharp claws. It was probably taller than him, and moved slowly in a fluid-like gait, an almost noiseless chittering filling the air like white noise. _Whatever you call it?_

Tilting his head in confusion his eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. He didn’t remember what it was called but he knew that it was strange that it was carrying a light. _What’s it doing down here though?_

The raven-haired teen’s eyes stayed glued to it for a few seconds but then something moved out of the corner of his eye. A second figure he hadn’t seen beforehand turned to face in his direction as if looking for something in the rubble. The male was by far more human-looking than Rin would have thought.

In fact, the five-o’clock shadow sporting man could have passed for a human in their mid-thirties if it wasn’t for the two sharp, black ram horns jutting out of his skull. The long, grey-haired male wore his hair tied up but a black, heavy-looking cloak covered most of his frame up to his knees and there was a noticeable glint of metal at his hip. A sword hilt protruded from his left side, the tattered cloth concealing it partially from view upon further inspection.

If he had turned the other way Rin wouldn’t had even known he had it. Which was probably the whole reason for the material in the first place though. His plain clothes on the other hand weren’t in much better shape than the piece of shabby fabric he was wearing over his shoulders.

_This guy…is a Demon?_ Curious—because the only other times he had come into contact with another Human-looking Demon besides Mephisto was with Asstro-whatever and Nigaimon—he tried to move a bit closer.

“Gyuh?!” Of course, with his inherent bad luck, he leaned too far forward from his hiding place and with a horrendous groan; the piece of rubble that had been his cover shifted and began to fall. _Crap!_

Eyes widening he tried to stop his forward momentum but ended up toppling over with it anyway, while a deafening “boom” filled the air when it made contact. A thick cloud of dust rose up when it finally hit the floor along with its passenger. The blue-eyed ExWire ended up inhaling the gritty stuff, sending his chest into spasming coughs that could wake the dead. Groaning, he rubbed his chin from where he had landed on it, his tail floundering about and coughed out, with tears gathering at the edges of his eyes, “Damn it…” _That’s going to leave a mark…_

Squinting in irritation and because he hardly wanted to be blinded, he spit out the dust in his mouth, wiping his tongue in hopes of getting rid of the horrible taste of wet concrete and grime that coated it. It was in that position, on his hands and knees with his tongue sticking out that he met eye to eye with the horned Demon.

Confusion was evident on the obviously older man’s face—that much was certain by the way his golden eyes bulged nearly out of his head—but before he could even stutter, Rin jumped up from his spot on the ground, back ramrod straight, tail as erect as an arrow.

He saluted smartly intoning, “Nothing to see here. Please go about your business.” And then promptly swiveled around attempting to fast march as far away from the other as possible.

Too bad the Coal Tar behind the Humanoid-shaped Demon decided that wasn’t going to happen. Slinking down low to the ground, it zipped behind him halting the navy-haired Demon in his tracks. _Ehhh?!_ Having shrunk until it was but the size of a house cat—albeit one with long, lanky arms ending with razor blades—it let out a low, feral hiss while moving forward causing the teen to stumble back into his original position before he could even blink. _This thing!_

Having paused at the sudden appearance of the boy the rugged Demon was quick to unfreeze when the Coal Tar moved. His clawed hand went straight for the sword hilt at his side and his face twisted into a snarl while he eyed the weapon at the smaller male’s hip. He barked in a rough, gritty tone, “Move one more centimeter and I’ll cut you down!”

Springing back into his ramrod straight position Rin faced the other and yelped, “H-hai!” Even his tail froze.

Staring at the shorter male the taller questioned harshly, “This is a restricted sector, you do realize this? Drop your weapon and state _your_ name and business! And it had better be good. Or else I’ll mount your head on a pike.”

The vivid image of _that_ was definitely a key factor in the blue-eyed teen’s abnormally silent compliance and he gulped. He didn’t doubt the other would for a second. If he knew anything, it was of all the Demons he had met that could take human form it was that two thirds of them were all too fond of cutting people up—and into, bloody shreds.

After he set his Koumaken gently on the ground, with his eyes trained firmly on the other all the while, he answered in a confused tone, “Eh, my name? It’s Okumura Rin. I-” He shoulders slumped forward then, shame clearly oozing out of his abashed posture and he scratched the back of his head nervously. He smiled sheepishly, the right half of his wobbly grin twitching. His tail was doing something akin to flailing while the young male kept his eye on the taller man’s weapon. “Well, you see-umm…I’m not too sure how I got here?”

Sweat beaded across his forehead while the wobbly smile returned. “I mean the train crashed-”

“CLICK”

And then there was a curved sword in his face, not a centimeter from his nose. He hadn’t even seen he other draw it even though he had been staring at it the entire time. _Ehhhhh?!_ He resisted the urge to jump back and instead leaned away from the piece of steel as far as he could.

“So you’re the cause behind this?!”

With his hands in front of his face, Rin glowered while frantically waving his hands. “No!” He then faltered, wincing slightly and his palms lowered in guilt. _Well…_ “Uh, maybe?” And then his expression morphed back to a frown when the weapon was pushed closer, this time aimed for his throat. “I mean, I was on it and all when it crashed! But I didn’t make the stupid train do that if that’s what you’re thinking! Hell, I tried to stop the damn thing!” The scowl on his face was thunderous, his teeth gritting against each other despite the fact that he kinda felt responsible for the whole “train crashing” thing. He kinda wanted to say sorry too; but that would have been a bad idea.

The long-haired Demon in front of him hardly looked amused. Or sympathetic. “You expect me to believe that?” He sneered, his other hand coming to grip the hilt of his blade threateningly. “Hn, I’ve seen Imps lie better than that! There’s no way you could have been on it. If you won’t tell me the truth… I will force it out of you!”

Seeing the blade move closer to his throat then he would have liked, Rin let his anger get the better of him and tail thrashing, he yelled, “I swear I’m not lying! The damn train was trying to eat me! A-and it ended up crashing! I was just on board!” He didn’t add that he was the one who tried to Exorcise it. The teen knew that it wouldn’t be the smartest thing to say either when he was in this particular situation.

The man sneered, not moving his sword even a millimeter. “And I told you that’s impossible. Nice try though. Everyone knows you can’t board one of these trains. For you to have been aboard that train you would have to be-” And then he paused mid-sentence, eyes widening when his mind finally bothered to register the very strange mode of dress the shorter male was wearing.

Mouth widening slightly, the shiny, steel-colored tail of the older man appeared out from the bottom of his cloak, swishing through the air in agitation. “No way…” He lowered the sword a few mere centimeters but it was enough to allow the other some breathing room. “No one survives that- No one!” His heavily lined features creased even more than before and he features hardening, he scowled. “Tell me, _if_ what you say _is_ true,” The golden-eyed male raised his blade again but kept it a few inches away from where he had previously held it at the navy-haired teen’s neck. “Than answer me this; what did you see when you were inside?”

Switching his expression once again from annoyed to bewildered Rin narrowed his eyes. He continued to frown and seeing that the other was quite adamant about receiving an answer, he combed his memory all the while rubbing his chin thoughtfully, eyes staring at the ceiling. Finally, he bluntly answered, “Umm, reddish pink goo, some strange looking controls and a chair from hell.” He paused and then added as an afterthought, “And ghosts. Lots and lots of ghosts.” He turned back to the man in front of him to ask why and instead of a sword in the face, he saw that the guy’s jaw had dropped open, sword hanging loosely with its point to the ground.

“G-ghosts?” The Demon seemed to be stunned by that last one and he took a step back, one of his clawed hands coming to rub the stubble lining his face in flabbergasted disbelief. “It’s impossible…” The gaze he fixed Rin with was quite alarming in its scrutiny. Than he suddenly began to mutter what the other considered complete nonsense to himself. “This can not bode well…” His eyes were streaking back and forth between him and the demolished tunnel around them. “And yet…”

Blinking at the strange sight, Rin hesitantly stepped back half a step and seeing that the other didn’t react he quickly stooped down to grab his sword while the man was busy examining their surroundings. The blue-eyed teen pointed behind him. “Yeah… So, you’re probably busy and all so I’ll just- I got to go.” He wasn’t staying any longer than he had to with some stranger in a dark underground subway station.

The Coal Tar he eyed with a quick look, finally deciding he could jump over it without having to stop and fight. Preparing himself to leap and then run as far away as possible, he tensed his legs. _Ready…. Set…_

He probably would have made it too if the older man hadn’t chosen that exact time to awake from his musings.

“W-WAIT!” A hand wrapped itself around the blue-eyed male’s jacket collar and jerked the fleeing teen to a complete stop.

“Y-you…you’re from Assiah aren’t you?” The question was as pointed as both of their ears were and demanded an answer that was just as equally certain. The fact that the other had yet to sheathe his sword was still all too apparent to the blue-eyed boy as well. That, and he was hanging about a half of a yard above the ground being dangled by his jacket collar of all things.

Eyes wide at the excitement in the others voice—and the strangeness of the question—the navy-haired Demon stuttered out, “A-assiah?” He blinked and with the speed opposite of a thunderbolt striking, he remembered that that was the name of the world he lived in. The other being…

Frowning, he turned as best as he could towards the other, something throwing red flags up in the back of his mind. _Huh? This guy…_ He felt as if he was forgetting something important but he answered anyway, tone firm if a bit questioning, “Yeah? If you haven’t noticed were kinda standing in it.” He blinked. “On it.” And then frowned, his head tilting innocently. “On top of it?”

Confused about the correct way of saying how you existed in a certain dimension he didn’t see the way the others face twisted into a grimace, his ears flattening slightly against the sides of his head. “Hey-”

“In the middle of…?”

_“Oi-”_

“Under?”

**_“Just wait a sec-”_ **

“Ah, maybe-?”

**“YOU’RE NOT IN ASSIAH!”**

The volume at which the taller man yelled with was near earsplitting and caused the navy-haired Demon to jump slightly. It took a few more seconds for the young ExWire to stop the ringing in his ears even though he had covered them.

Rin’s hearing wasn’t the only thing disrupted by the man’s yell though. A bit of dust rained down on them from the ceiling and what sounded like a groan echoed through the corridor.

The blue-eyed boy pulled his hands away from his ears and stared up at the brickwork holding the tunnel up. A few more gritty pieces of dust and whatnot fell down but it was soon apparent that their surroundings weren’t in any danger of collapsing when things finally quieted down.

Figuring that they were still safe the younger male groused with an annoyed look in the others direction behind him, “Dude, use your indoor voice. You want this place to come down on top of us?” And proceeded to rub his ears, tail swishing in the air. “And what do you mean we’re not? Where else would we be, Gehenna?”

It took a couple seconds for the grey-headed Demon to comprehend that the other was joking but when he did the jest fell flat seeing how the older man knew better. His face twitched, thinking that the other’s first statement was a bit hypocritical seeing how he was one of the main causes for the underground station’s condition in the first place. And that maybe he was an airhead. What Demon—half or otherwise—couldn’t tell the difference between the two realms?! Did he not remember the feeling of shifting between the confining material world of Assiah and into the nothingness of Gehenna’s plane that gave freedom to his spirit?

Or perhaps he had not been so fortunate as he had previously thought. A golden iris trailed over the others petite form, disregarding the strange fashion he wore. It could have been that he had been knocked out during the train’s return to Gehenna. That would explain why he did not feel the difference in his form and thus could not tell he wasn’t in Assiah anymore. If that was the case then he probably didn’t know what had happened to his body when he transitioned between the two…

With a world-weary sigh, the long-haired male sheathed his blade, deciding that that was most likely the case and that the smaller male looked harmless enough on his own. If he was from Assiah then no doubt he was hardly worth a Hobgoblin’s tooth either way.

Lowering his captive so that his feet actually touched the ground he rumbled out with a sour look, “You don’t get it do you?” Running his now free hand down his face, he stopped only to rub his non-existent beard in weariness. His golden irises narrowed to slits and he scowled at the clueless face the other made at his statement wondering if trying to explain to the other that he really was in Gehenna would be worth it.

“Get what?” Nonplussed by the tone of voice the shorter male always associated with an expression of disappointment he glared up at the taller Demon.

Who answered with a shake of his head and finally let go of the blue-eyed boy’s jacket. “You’re obviously a half-demon and you know what Assiah and Gehenna are and yet...” He closed his eyes and sighed again before sending a stern glare towards the smaller boy. Folding his arms over his beige-covered chest, he jerked his chin towards one of the clumps of goo that came off the Phantom Train complete with the wondering eyeball. “Take a good look around you. Tell me, can you feel anything different about this place?”

Rin made a face but looked anyway. After a moment of doing so and not getting the point of it, he grumbled, “No?” Starting to lose his patience and wanting to go look for his twin and Shiemi he asked tartly, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Feel? I don’t _feel_ anything. We’re in a subway.” He glanced at the strange posters on the wall again and felt like there was just something right there, in the back of his mind but he couldn’t figure it out. He didn’t say anything to the other about it though. “Well, an _old_ subway. Underground. What’s to feel? But that doesn’t mean we’re in Gehenna. That’s just crazy!” He proceeded to look at the older man as if he too, was in fact, not right in the head.

Growling at his refusal of the plain obvious fact—in his opinion—the older Demon grumbled, “What are you fifty-years-old? You would have to be a Human not to feel it!” Once again scowling, he turned away walking a meter or two before turning around to gesture to Gehenna’s new addition. “If you don’t believe me and if you really can’t feel it then I’ll just take you to my King. I’m quite sure he’ll be intrigued by your presence either way.”

“King?” Blinking owlishly in his direction the blue-eyed teen watched the horned man leave before jumping to the side when the Coal Tar that had been in the background of his awareness streaked through his legs several times like a cat only for it to follow the leaving man. _What sort of weird, delusional Demon hobo have I found?_

Not too sure what was going on but wanting to get some answers—he wasn’t really in Gehenna…was he?—Rin sprang into action running after the black-cloaked individual after he noticed he was already pretty far away and yelled out, “Oi, who the hell you calling fifty-years-old?! You’re the old man here Ossan!”

Pleased to see that the raven-haired male had followed him he smirked for the first time, causing the harsh creases of his face to melt into laugh lines. He sent a strange look the smaller male’s way. “Ossan? Is something wrong with your brain? I’m clearly in the prime of my life!” He huffed in amusement, “Besides, fifty-years-old is much too young to be considered an Ossan anyway. Why you would have to be-” The older Demon paused in mid-step for several seconds.

A sweat drop beaded across his forehead and he gulped silently mind racing. He stared ahead for a little bit longer before he swirled around suddenly, clamping his hands down on the navy-haired teen’s small—at least to his hands they felt like so—shoulders. “Uh- Rin was it? Okumura Rin? Just- I mean, t-there are several differences between As-assiah and Gehenna but you wouldn’t happen to be-” He made a strange face stopping in mid-sentence before asking weakly, “W-what I mean is… How _old_ are you?” He clarified just in case the shorter male could confuse that question for anything else, dreading the answer. “In Assiah.”

Staring up at the taller Demon, he frowned, before quirking an eyebrow up in mirth. “Ou, that’s a weird question to ask you know?” Tail waving side-to-side Rin casually scratched the side of his face and moving out from under the others grip flippantly answered, “I’m fifteen.”

He continued walking, Kurikara now in his belt loop again but when he didn’t hear the older man following him, he turned with a questioning tilt to his head. “Eh?”

The way the other was on his hands and knees, a waterfall streaming from both eyes made Rin think that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to follow the male Demon seeing how they just met; especially since he was so… odd. _Ah, this is what Kusojijii called “stranger danger?” Though…_ Somehow seeing him in such a pitiful state made the teen feel moderately safe. And if he was being led into a trap, he still had his Koumaken with him. One strike and the other would end up extra crispy~

…Right?

“Are you ok, mister-” Wanting to see if maybe the guy was alright and get his mind off what would happen should they end up in a real fight Rin came to the sudden epiphany that he didn’t even know the guy’s name. Bumping his fist into his open palm he mused aloud, “Ah, you never told me your name!” Sending a toothy grin his way he added, “Nice to meet’cha!” He walked over and patted the guy’s back enthusiastically, not really bothering to control his monstrous strength. He was a Demon too after all.

“Forras.” The man spoke with a groan and stood up suddenly rubbing his chin roughly with a grimace on his face, eyes closed. “The name is Forras.” He sighed deeply before sending a heavy look the raven-haired boy’s way. “Fifteen huh?” The Demon’s gaze lingered for quite some time and the younger male started to get a weird feeling that he was being sized-up by the other.

And then the moment was over and the grey-haired man started walking again—more like he dragged his feet—looking thoughtful, with his features set in a stony countenance. They traveled like that for a few minutes careful to sidestep the numerous globs that were the remnants of the Demon train and other clutter that barred their way.

Forras suddenly chuckled aloud, face breaking into an exasperated look before he muttered sardonically, “Che, just my luck huh?” He gave another sideways glance in the shorter male’s direction who had been concentrating on the man’s back ever since they started moving. “You do realize that to Demons, fifteen years old is the equivalent to an infant right? And yet you look much older; nearly four-hundred I would have to say…” His hand was back at his chin, rubbing away at the stubble there, a brooding air about his countenance.

Eyes widening, the blue-eyed teen’s jaw dropped and he paused before moving to catch up with Forras, the previous tension—to him at least—in the air vanishing like a puff of smoke. “Eh?! No way! You’re lying!” His tail wavered in mid-wag standing straight up in his astonishment.

The grey-haired man’s frown dropped at that and he smirked sending a smug look towards the much, much younger Demon. “Nope! I can’t remember exactly how long Humans live but I know it’s pretty low. Less than a hundred and fifty right?”

“Ah,” Rin’s eyebrows scrunched up and looking at his hands, he mumbled a few seconds later, “More like a hundred.” _Am I really that young compared to Mephisto and Suppaimon? How old are they anyway?!_

“Huh? No, you must be pulling my tail!”

Snapping out of his thoughts, he caught the tail-end of the older Demon’s expression and busted out laughing. “Gyahahaha~ What the heck’s that face for?!”

Shooting him a dirty look, Forras clucked his tongue and slapped his palm down on his sword pummel, clawed hand using it as a hand rest while the other rubbed the back of his neck. “Jeeze, no wonder you thought I was an old man…”

Still snickering merrily the ExWire’s tail flickered left and right happily while he asked, “Sooo~ How old are you anyway?”

Glancing at Rin, he rumbled good-naturally, “One-thousand and thirty-four.”

The blue-eyed Demon nearly bit his tongue. “NA-NANI?! One-one thousand-what?!”

With the situation reversed, the long-haired Demon smirked again, a bit smug at his seniority. He turned a corner in the tunnel and then they were at the landing of a long stairwell. Without pausing, he began to climb avoiding the debris that littered their passage to the surface, the Coal Tar racing ahead to keep their path lit. “Yep, what’s the matter kid? You want to hide behind your sire’s coat?”

Ignoring the confusing statement and its implications that he was scared, Rin just gaped at the other before muttering with stars in his eyes, “Sugei~”

Smug expression melting into an amused one he snickered in his heavy baritone, “You really are just a kid…” And a huge grin broke out on his face; fangs easily double the size of Rin’s showing. “Or should I say baby?” 

Cheeks reddening at the words of the older, the wonder in the teen’s eyes dimmed and he turned his head to the side muttering darkly, “Not a kid! Or a baby bakayarou…” And then he wrinkled his red nose feeling something tickle his sinuses and before he could stop himself, he sneezed loudly nearly losing his footing on the stairs.

Turning around fully at the noise Forras saw that the child was off-balance and quickly grabbed onto the sleeve of his jacket rather forcefully. This ended up saving the navy-haired boy from a painful fall a flight down. Yanking him back up onto the platform they had just reached he complained, “Sheesh, you would think that surviving a train crash would be enough for one day. Or are you just trying really hard to get yourself killed?”

Rubbing the back of his head self-consciously, the short ExWire laughed weakly, “Go-gomen. Thanks for saving me.”

Huffing in an exaggerated exasperation, he frowned, forehead creased. “You’re welcome, but it would seem as if your coat was not so fortunate.”

Following the helpfully pointing finger Rin glanced down at his jacket…only to find that it was minus one sleeve now. The fabric had nearly been ripped in two where the other had grabbed him and it was only hanging on by a thread at the moment while showing the pale skin of his arm underneath. Mouth landing on the floor, the navy-haired teen whimpered in distress while whipping it off to stare at the damage, “Wh- Huh? My, my jacket!” A long list of what was wrong with the image of the huge gash in it prompted several more pictures in his mind of the stern and disappointed figure of his twin staring at him and his now ruined uniform in disgust. _Yukio…_

Dreading the fate he would meet when he arrived back home with the torn garment Rin wept over his clothes wondering if Mephisto would be nice enough to place it under Yukio’s Exorcist expenses and give him another one free of charge… _Yeah, right._

And then something somewhat heavy was clapped over his shoulders, covering him from head to toe, a hood obscuring his eyes until he pushed it off the top of his head so that he could see. “Wah?!”

Staring back at him with a smirk was Forras—who no longer wore his black cloak for he had given it to the raven-haired teen. Scrunching his eyes, he snorted, “Che, little brat. Don’t go getting frozen on me now.”

Eyes widening, Rin’s mouth hung open before he looked away, grunting out with a flush over his cheeks, “Shaddup, not a brat.” Noticing that the other had nothing else on but some flimsy-looking clothes he frowned. “I don’t need this, my jacket is still-”

Without giving him a second glance the school jacket was ripped from his fingers and sent careening down the long flight of stairs they had just walked up. The blue-eyed boy blinked before glowering at the not-in-the-least-bit-ashamed man.

“Now you do.” The expression on his face left no room for argument. “Unless you want to go back down there.” He raised an eyebrow and added, “With who-knows-what lurking in the dark.”

The sound of something moving down below punctuated that statement.

Rin gulped and with one last glance back down he muttered, “Fine.” He was just glad he hadn’t put anything in the pockets or else he _would_ have to go after it. Instead, he pulled the cloak tighter against his body; it really was cold down there. _Ou, warm~_ Surprised, a happy smile flitted across his face as he buried his cold nose in the collar of the fabric. It smelled like overturned ground and was a bit musty but otherwise worked to keep the cold away.

Scoffing at that the sight of the other, the Demon turned back around leading them both up another flight of stairs, the Coal Tar maintaining its distance ahead of them, lantern glowing in the dark. “This path goes all the way up to the Top Tier. What you saw below was a part of the sectioned off Lower Tier. Not many people bother to go that way.” He sent a knowing glance at the child behind him. “After all, no one wants to tussle with one of King Samael’s Kin. Or is dumb enough too.”

Pouting at the backhanded insult the ExWire replied, “Not my fault.”

“Right.” Jumping over a part of the stairwell that had sunken down into the earth Forras looked back and reached for the younger male’s hand.

Rin ignored it in favor of jumping up himself and continued walking this time ahead of the older Demon who just shook his head at his antics.

“Anyway, once we reach the top I’ll take you to my King. I’m sure that once we reach outside though you will be able to see for yourself that you no longer reside in Assiah.”

“Sure. Whatever you say Oji-san.”

Shaking his head at the nickname, the long-haired man brought one of his large hands down on the shorter male’s head, ruffling the hair there even though the male was a step or two ahead of him and asked, “Before we reach the top though, I do have a question for you.”

Not even glancing back Rin swatted at the hand nonchalantly with only a small frown and shrugged his shoulders responding, “Hmm? Shoot.”

Smiling, the older man stated, “I’m the Chief Watchman for the Ninth Lower Tier. I serve my King and make sure that his domain remains secure from outside forces. Be it from beyond the walls or in this case…”

Rin could hear the click of the others sword while it was moved slightly in its scabbard and his skin-prickled, eyes darting back while he grabbed his Koumaken under the cloak.

“You.”

The teen felt the sudden urge to run but clamped down on it rationalizing that if the other had wanted him dead or thought he was a genuine threat, he probably wouldn’t be leading him to the exit. _Hopefully…_ He still paused in mid-step though.

“You’re not going to try and cause a ruckus are you Rin?”

Stomping the rest of his instincts into a small pile of goo he sent a quick smirk the others way, hand relaxing around Kurikara and started walking again before teasing, “What? Me? I ain’t going to cause any trouble.” _Unless I have to… If this really is Gehenna…_ Eyebrows narrowing as a scowl made its way across his features he sighed and shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, he sneaked a quick look behind him before ending, “I don’t have a reason too.” _Yet._

Seemingly satisfied with that answer and now level with the boy’s pace, he continued, probing causally, “Ah, that’s good. However, I’ve been wondering, when we first engaged each other down in that tunnel you had a sword with you and still do. Did you find it in the wreckage? I know that sometimes strange things can be found there whenever one of those Infernal Trains finishes snacking on the Human ghosts it brings back.”

The navy-haired teen watched the other walk ahead of him, his stride slowing slightly. He answered hesitantly with his tail swishing underneath the long cloak, his hidden hand coming to rest on the saya of his blade, “No. This sword has been with me since birth.” It wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t the truth either. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up now, causing his tail to bristle. It wouldn’t smooth down no matter what he did.

The Demon nodded carelessly, expressing why he had asked. “Ah. Just wondering that’s all. Here in Gehenna anything that comes from Assiah is quite unique. It is very rare for something to slip through between the worlds you see. Even rarer for someone to do so.”

“Really? Well, if this is Gehenna then I must be pretty special eh? Hehehe~” Snickering into his hand the raven-haired male tried to lighten the mood and looked towards the other to see his expression but instead bumped straight into his back. “Woa?!”

Rocking back, he grabbed onto the older man’s tan-colored shirt and steadied himself. Letting go, he questioned up at the grey-haired man, “Huh? Why’d you stop?”

“Special heh?” The scrape of metal filled the air and suddenly Forras’s blade was drawn, the light that the Coal Tar held several feet away from them gleaming along the width of the blade…

As it stuck out of the greenish-black mass of its hide. A hideous shriek rent the air and before Rin’s eyes, the smaller Demon dissolved into nothing. Then the lantern it had carried fell, its glass shattering and light snuffing out while it tumbled down the stairs and into the dark below.

**_“F-Forras?!”_** Staring at his back the raven-haired teen couldn’t comprehend the fact that the older man had just killed the smaller Demon in cold blood. Things seemed to become all too real as he stood in the newfound dark of the stairwell with what he knew was a dangerous man to begin with.

 “It was only once. Almost two decades ago but I’ll never forget it. The cold look on that monster’s face.”

Without pomp, Forras turned around, blackened sword still at his side. Something wet dripped off its tip while he looked down onto the confused face of the child before him in the little bit of ambient light that began to seep back into their surrounding now that the lantern was gone. “Your eyes are nothing alike though.” His stony features twisted into a sneer, gold irises slitted and glinting with mirth eerily in the dark. “But that’s only to be expected. After all,” He took a downward step, his eyes trained on Rin’s widening ones who was only a few steps away. “The Heir to the throne of Gehenna was said to have been raised by a Human.”

“F-forras? You… How did you know?!” The Exorcist-in-training gripped his sword with both of his hands, a snarl coming across his face and his tail thrashing beneath the not-so-welcomed-anymore coat. _Damn it! Not this again!_ Thoughts on how that man, the one with horns and silver hair just like Forras had started spouting things about him being Satan’s kid and then tried to drag him to Gehenna came to mind. He knew this situation wasn’t going to end well either. However, it was hardly the first time he had been given a nasty surprise after meeting a Demon.

“How?” The black horned-man stepped closer and the teen stumbled backwards, the sunken hole in the ground just a few steps away.

He couldn’t keep moving back forever.

 “It was when you told me your age. Every Demon down to even the Coal Tars know that Lord Satan had a son in Assiah sixteen years ago.” Leering, with his white fangs glinting in the dark, the long-haired man’s tail slashed the air wildly. “He ordered all of Demon kind to keep an eye out and what do you know? My King, out of all the others was the one to find you! And now you’ve finally come home!” He shook his head at the irony of it all.

“But tell me, little Rin,” The grin on his face bent into something utterly…twisted. This wasn’t the same man the ExWire had first met.

 “Do you know how it is Demon’s like myself gain power? The Kings were born with it. They never had to work to survive. To claw themselves up from the rest of the trash and gain a rank that held off a sure-fire death sentence.” He stepped closer, his heavy black outline in the dark starting to terrify the younger Demon. He was still a kid; it would have been unnatural for him to not be.

Glaring up at the Demon who he had thought was at least a _little_ bit different than the others, he snarled while pulling his Koumaken closer to himself, not yet ready to draw it. After the whole fiasco at the Illuminati’s hidden laboratory Shura had pounded it into his head not to draw Kurikara unless there was no other option. “What do you want with me Forras?!”

“No?” Ignoring the younger male’s shout he stepped down again, his sword sliding against the stone of the stairs, a loud screech of metal sounding throughout the stairwell while he began to make his way down, “Of course you wouldn’t. You’ve stayed safe and sound in Assiah while we’ve rotted! Well, allow me to enlighten you, young prince. Here in Gehenna the weak are _eaten_ and only the strong and ruthless survive.” He interrupted himself with a swipe of his sword, sending the blue-eyed boy stumbling just out of his reach.

Something warm splattered onto the blue-eyed male’s cheek and cloak. The Exorcist-in-training knew without having to look that it was the blood of the Coal Tar the other had slain. _He- He is going to kill me._

“It is pure anarchy here; very few of the Kings care about their kin. The rest-” The man chuckled, placing his free hand over his face, not even trying to muffle his laughter. Spreading his arms wide he continued to snigger balefully, a strange look in his eyes. “The rest _laugh_ and watch as we slaughter each other in an eternal Battle Royal!”

Paying no heed to the irritating fact that he was being called prince again, the raven-haired teen gulped, glancing behind the man while wondering if he could make it past him and if he could, would he be able to get away once he reached the top? Which brought back to mind what the other had told him earlier. He was starting to consider that maybe, just maybe he _was_ in Gehenna. And if that was the case... _I’m screwed if I do and screwed if I don’t!_ He didn’t have the luxury of second-guessing himself at the moment.

The long-haired Demon calmed down then, suddenly snorting, “It’s nothing personal.” An almost apologetic smile came to his face and a bit of what Rin had thought to be the man’s true sentiments showed through. He came closer, raising his sword in preparation to strike. “But this is a golden opportunity. If I consume you, I’ll gain power even the Kings won’t be able to touch! I don’t intend to be anyone’s next meal!”

The navy-haired teen’s heart was beginning to beat so fast it almost threatened to burst out of his chest and with one last step, he came to the opening of the hole in the stairs, his heel kicking a bit of rubble down into it. He never heard it hit the ground. _Shit! Shit! Shit! What am I going to do?!_ He could draw his sword but who knew what else was around in the dark. He distinctly remembered that his flames had the uncanny knack of attracting things that wanted to kill him. If he was in Gehenna of all places…then there was no telling if something much, much worse would find him. Like a certain pyromaniac of a birth father.

Oblivious to Rin’s indecisive thoughts, the Chief Watchman continued his monologuing, “Normally children here in Gehenna are quite rare, so even causing harm to one is punishable by death. However…no one even knows you’re here. You really do have the worst luck Rin.” He tutted, almost close enough to touch the boy with his hand, which meant his sword definitely could.

“You’re insane! Whatever the hell your planning Forras, you don’t want to do it.” Face scrunched up in a snarl, the navy-haired teen pulled Kurikara’s hilt from underneath the cloak with his right hand on top of it showing the other he wasn’t about to go down without a fight. “Trust me.”

Forras just sneered and raised his sword above his head, “Goodbye, little prince.” He didn’t hesitate in bringing the blade down.

However, an unholy scream ripped through the air at that exact moment and his sword paused above Rin’s head—who had every intention of dodging to the side at the last second to avoid the attack. The very ground shook, causing fragments of the ceiling to fall around them, shaking the both of them out of their previous skirmish and alerting them to the overwhelming presence that had suddenly appeared below them.

Out of the murky darkness, several maroon eyes bulged open staring at them with a wild, crazed look. And then several overly large teeth appeared in the impossibly large maw that suddenly gaped open in the dark.

_What is that?!_

A headlight abruptly blinked open and the cavern was awash with light.

Rin felt a bolt of panic rip through him at the sight of the Exorcism Tag smack dab below it. The fact that the floor was unstable and that he was tilting dangerously backward didn’t register until he felt a bit of the floor beneath him give a little thanks to the unexpected reappearance of the Phantom Train. The blue-eyed ExWire gasped and since he had shifted too much to one side to evade the oncoming attack from Forras he couldn’t regain his balance. His rapid turn to stare behind him earlier hadn’t help the matter.

Unable to compensate even with his advanced sense of balance he pitched side-ways still unable to unglue his eyes from the Demon he had thought he had Exorcised. “Owa!” Trying to correct his center of gravity he wind-milled and took one too many steps in the wrong direction causing himself to twist unnaturally to the side. Right into the hole behind him. _FUCK!_

In the split second it took for him to fall backwards, he finally managed to turn away from the Demon that had held his gaze captive and he locked eyes with the golden-eyed man in front of him.

An expression of alarm was streaked across his face but it soon morphed to horror for some unknown reason.

This reason soon became abundantly clear when—in that split second when one’s life flashes before your eyes—the dark mass of the Train that had appeared at the bottom of the stairs rushed forward across the opening of the cavity in the stairwell.

And chomped down on Forras’s mid-section with a horrendous crunch. Blood splattered everywhere.

Just as soon as it came it left, a sickening snap and the bulging of the Demon man’s eyes all the evidence Rin needed to know that he wouldn’t be coming back any time soon. The copious amount of blood everywhere—including on his face—was unnecessary to say the least.

Having caught the jagged end of the stairs on the opposite side he stared at what he now knew to be the rampaging blob of the Phantom Train crash into the wall ahead that indicated another landing. The many arms it had sticking out of its hide acted like a car’s breaking system though, and it hardly slowed down as it continued up the stairs no doubt ready to wreak havoc on the surface.

Several rocks had fallen loose from the ceiling and lavender-tinted rays of light dotted the once darkened stairwell from the surface above.

Face frozen in sheer disbelief at what had just transpired in the last _long_ five seconds of his life Rin hoisted himself up onto the stairs, eyes wide and tail coiled so tightly against his torso he thought his own spine was going to snap. _Ah…_ Despite the fact that Forras had been about to kill him and as he put it “eat him,” the ExWire felt a bit of sympathy for the older Demon. He didn’t want to be anyone’s lunch but he also didn’t want to the other to _die._

Still stunned and feeling the liquid on his face drip off and down his chin, his lips formed a wobbly frown and tears began to come to his eyes. Thoughts about Forras and his sudden death were pushed back in his mind in favor of wondering how screwed he was. It wasn’t that he didn’t care but with the Phantom Train back in action Rin could only stared up at where it had disappeared up the stair well and without warning, allowed his head to smack against the stairs, tail wilting. The amount of property damage that the damn train was going to cause up top was worth weeping about. “Yukio’s going to kill me.”

* * *

**_1:54 AM; Ninth Circle: Upper Tier…_ **

* * *

Astaroth allowed his head to drop with a bang onto the desk he was currently at. Several sheaves of parchment paper went sliding onto the floor in a vengeful flurry at his actions.

The Demon King of Rot and Ruler of the Ninth Circle of Hell just growled, raising his head before gouging more holes into his already worn out desk and rubbing the deeply bronzed skin of his forehead, cursed the entity—in this case his own father—that first invented the abysmal task of keeping records called “paperwork.”

“If I have to sign one more shitty document…” He let that statement hang much like the limp tendrils of his spiky, pale-lavender hair. Twisting his neck, he allowed it to pop nauseatingly before scratching his red-tipped horns.

Alone in his private study the Demon tapped his long, black nails against the dark wood of his desk, starting to get antsy at the long period of time he had remained cooped up in the dank space. The solitude of grinding through his current workload made him vow to hire a personal assistant. He couldn’t very well look after his younger brother in Assiah if he was stuck in Gehenna slogging through the backlog of official decrees and order forms. He just _had_ to be the leader of Hell’s industrial _and_ mining ward. Couldn’t that idiot of a brother, Iblis take over weapon production?!

He was wasting precious stalking time on this grievous up-hill battle!

Grumbling to himself and smoothing back his choppy hair, he laid back in his chair enjoying his miniature break even though the sound and vibration of his subjects blasting away at the mines below never really halted. Just an hundred or so more forms to sign and he would be able to go back to Assiah. Where there was no constant work or the sound of explosions sounding at all hours of the day.

Astaroth knew better than to try and hold off any longer on the book-keeping though. His father became terribly grumpy when his sons didn’t get their filing done.

That brought a sneer to his face and a wicked chuckle at the thought of just how much work was piling up in Amaimon’s domain. He hadn’t seen the little shit around in weeks. Maybe Father would step in and switch their domains if he got pissed enough!

Slowly relaxing and enjoying the thought of that moron of a little brother getting his ass kicked, the crimson-eyed male smiled to himself in delight. _Would serve the little fucker right!_

Then came the heinous knocking from his study’s double doors.

Eyes snapping open the Demon King flexed his claws, swearing to decapitate the fool who dared disturb him. He vaguely remembered the last time his eye had twitched in murderous anger; he had created the Spanish Flu and infected that nitwit Egyn for causing a torrential downpour that had flooded his mines for _days._

Growling low in his throat he snarled, “Unless one of my brothers is dead, Hell is burning to the ground,” He cleared his throat. _“Again.”_ And continued, “Or Father wants a word with me be prepared to be gutted, skewered and roasted slowly over the Lower Tier blast furnaces for my dinner tonight.”

The door opened anyway.

“My apologies, my liege.” A woman with dark green hair pinned back into a bun and wearing a white blouse with a charcoal grey pencil skirt stepped forward, face set into a stony mask that said she wasn’t sorry at all. She bowed, stating with a deadpan at her King’s antics, “But we have a situation on our hands.”

Raising an eyebrow and gritting his teeth Astaroth waved a clawed hand in the Demoness’s direction. “And?! Is any of my brothers dead?! Hell burning to the ground?!” He rolled his eyes. _“Again.”_ Then snarled, “Or does Father wish to speak to me?!”

The female unbent herself with ease and without moving one stitch of the sutures sown into her face keeping the flesh together she mechanically reported, in a bland tone, “No. A rampaging Phantom Train is about to crash into your fortress, my King.” And then stepped back, just out of the doorway.

Scoffing in disgust the Demon King of Rot sneered, placing his chin on his palm smugly. “Is that all?! Che, I guess I’ll be needing a new secretary. And I really liked you-” His expression did a one-eighty. “WAIT, WHAT?!”

The right and back half stonewall of his study—complete with a window view overlooking the conveniently placed mines where his subjects toiled—promptly burst into a thousand pieces of inter-laid brickwork, the debris just barely missing the astute secretary standing by the doorjamb.

While the Phantom Train proceeded to crash.

Again.


	3. The Trouble With Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forge and Gorge at their finest.

**Chapter Three: The Trouble With Family**

* * *

**_2:21 AM; Ninth Circle; Upper Tier…_ **

* * *

When Rin finally made it to the top of the stairwell, he immediately noticed the sky. It seemed as if it was night time but that did not explain why the clouds were deep purple or why the sun seemed to be a small, dim blue sphere in the sky. He may have not payed attention in class all that much but skipping classes to cloud watch taught him that the sky was most definitely blue and the sun a bright yellow in the morning, a deep orange at noon and a burnt red in the evening. He had seen the sky pink before with the setting of the sun...but this color of purple so reminiscent of amethyst was just plain weird, pretty...but weird. It wasn't natural.

Neither was the fact that there was nary a star in the sky, just a blank cloud covered expanse that looked more painted on then actual air.

Shaking his head at the strange sight, the navy-haired teen turned to take in his surroundings as well, only to catch a glimpse of the mayhem that he had inadvertently caused.

There were Demons everywhere. Human-looking and otherwise. With horns, extra appendages, extra _eyes,_ even some of the more humanoid ones were strange in their proportions ranging from midgets to towering giants...

Feeling like whiplash could be his middle name he peeked past the smoking rubble crater of what used to be a brick building of some kind.

And watched as a not-so-small crowd began to form around what looked like a fortress of massive proportions, gabbering, chittering, and squawking in the hubbub of life of the strangest kind that he really should have noticed far sooner, had he not been gawking at the sky. The tall, grey stone structures with thatched roofs of straw and metal sheeting surrounding the place were demolished almost completely.

Globs of the Phantom Train were strewn about, interspersed with the wreckage. They pulsed weakly, now a pale shade of lilac as they struggled to reconstitute themselves back into one form. The wiggling was futile though. Being shredded once and expecting to be able to heal itself was tricky but not impossible. Twice? That was a sure-fire death sentence.

Blinking with his mouth wide open, Rin stared at the destruction he had—without meaning to—caused.

_I’m sooooo dead._ Shoulders slumping and tail whipping in despondent dread Rin didn't notice that he was attracting quite a few stares from the few onlookers that were not affected by the destruction.

Hearing muffled whispers in his direction he caught sight of a gaggle of woman who were without a doubt Demonnesses. Eyes bugging out at the sight of their pale skin, pointed ears and curly tails—among scales, feathers and animal-like features—he coughed back his surprise and smiled sheepishly, a blush coming to his face as they giggled behind their hands whispering even fiercer then before to each other. Deigning not to say anything—women were women were women—he merely nodded in their direction and high-tailed it away from the underground entrance to the train station lest he be caught by the curious on-lookers or the law enforcement of the area for some silly reason or other.

Mind still trying to come to terms with all he had seen after coming out of the tunnel Rin cradled his Koumaken close and slipped the hood of the black cowl he wore in hopes to minimize all the stares aimed at his direction. What was so special about the way he looked anyway? _Jeeze, not here even an hour and people are already looking at me funny! They're the funny looking ones!_

Was there even such a thing as a normal-looking Demon?!

Sneaking past most of the milling crowd the ExWire noticed that the road was made out of roughly hewn cobblestone put together half-hazardously and that a thick layer of dirt was partially obscuring that as well.

In fact, the clothes that everyone was wearing were petty shabby too. The woman all wore ankle long skirts and ruffled blouses smudged with coal and dirt. The men weren't much better. They wore rough looking pants and tunic-like shirts of various muted earth browns and dirty greys. When you could tell the gender at all that is. Almost everyone had a cloak much like his, some more dirt splattered or red streaked then others.

Just by looking at what they were carrying and their dirt-crusted clothes he could tell he was in some sort of mining or factory area. The only question was where could he go to disappear and _fast._ The longer he pushed through the growing number of onlookers the more glances and stares were being thrown his way.

Which wasn't good at all.

If Forras knew who he was almost immediately then who knew who else would. He didn't need to attract anymore attention to himself. Especially that of the dragging-his-ass-straight-to-Satan kind. Not getting eaten was high on that list as well.

Batting away the near hysterical thoughts about how he was _so fucked_ rising in his chest Rin ducked into a nearby alleyway to gather himself. There was little doubt as to whether he was in Gehenna anymore. Now he just needed to find some much-needed cover from all the stares he had attracted trying to move _away_ from the scene of destruction before he completely lost control. He couldn't afford to flare up out there in the open of all places.

Just in time too, because as he turned the corner, the sea of Demons parted in haste as a group of five armored men came racing down the street. Metal chest plates and chain-mail woven from silver clanked and clanged as they moved down the road towards the disaster zone.

Peeking from his hideaway behind a serious of mauve, hanging sheets that were little more then rags, he noticed the finer quality of their uniform that consisted of dark and light blues as well as something etched deep into the metal covering their chests.

Unable to make out what it was and scared yet slightly curious about the world he was now in, Rin hitched a leg up onto a broken window seal and using his Demonic strength hauled himself up to the roof of the building he had been hiding behind. Wrinkling his nose at the smell of dirt and mold that clung to the straw of the roof he shimmied across it's slopped surface until he came to the primitive clay built chimney which was smokeless at the moment and hid behind it.

While not great, the view the roof offered allowed him to see what was happening while at the same time keeping him out of the limelight. That was all he could ask for at the moment so he contented himself with sitting back and watching as the guards arrived at the scene of the crash. It helped that the voices of everyone in the square carried.

But what he saw made him wish he had hightailed it a bit further then just the measly block away he was.

Out of the rubble, a large shape emerged covered in dust but otherwise unharmed. He just happened to be pissed to all holy hell as well.

**"JUST. WHAT. DO. YOU. THINK. YOU'RE. DOING!"** In one ham-sized fist the minotaur-esqe mountain of a Demon hauled the remnants of the Phantom Train up from the wreckage by its jaw.

It screeched in pain, trying to wiggle its way out of the bronze-skinned Demon's grip and Rin's jaw dropped.

Sneering, the giant shook the train-shaped Demon violently while growling, **_"You fucker, you ruined my house!"_** The grip around its jaw tightened until something broke and with a horrendous squeal the train stopped moving, becoming deathly still.

Teeth barred, the man/beast wheeled back his hand and with a flick of his wrist tossed the corpse of the Phantom Train off to the side careless of all the other Demons in the way.

The navy-haired teen watched in horror, looking away at the squelching sound of the train's death. That was two lives he had inadvertently ended that day. Sick to his stomach and a bit more then just disturbed, he bit his lip and peeked past the chimney again just in time to catch a glimpse of the person who had just thoughtlessly murdered another living creature. A spike of recognition flared through him and the image of another day and place came to mind.

Wide-eyed, Rin swallowed, hard. It was just like Amaimon. That creature was actually a Demon he knew. Specifically, the one who had tried to drag him back to Gehenna. The one that had attacked his home and nearly killed the clergy men that lived there. The one that had possessed that pigeon-killing thug Shirotori. _Astaroth..._ Staring intently, the blue-eyed Demon thought back as hard as he could for anything he could remember about the man below. _A Demon King like Amaimon and Mephisto..._

Things didn't look good. At all. _So that's who Forras was talking about!_ If he had tried to kidnap him before in Assiah there was literally nothing stopping him from doing so now. Hell, the guy even had a home-field advantage! _Stupid! I need to get out of here!_

Just as he was about to turn tail and get the hell out of dodge, further commotion down below caught his attention and unable to resist Rin stopped, peering down again.

Out of the rubble the guards had dragged someone out from a large slab of debris and proceeded to throw them on the ground at the feet of the Demon King.

In that minute Rin knew there was no way he could just leave. Not if it meant sentencing the man to death. That seemed like the type of the thing the lavender-haired Demon would do on a whim. He seemed mad enough for it too.

At the King of Rot's feet lay a Demon with steel grey hair matted with blood. Forras had survived. But just barely.

Blood stained, his already shabby-looking clothing were blotted a dark, wet brown and mangled skin could be seen underneath the left over rags where the Phantom Train had bit into his side, crunching down on his ribs.

Without waiting, Astaroth grabbed the man by his long hair and lifted him up to eye level heedless of the others injuries.

"Well, well, look who we have here! Forras! Where have you been skulking around these past few days?! Ain't the Chief Watchman of the Ninth Lower Tier suppose 'ta, ya know, report in a timely manner?!" He let out a sound of disgust and released the other, letting him fall to the ground amid the rubble and debris. "You better have a good explanation of why a fucking **_INFERNAL TRAIN_** crashed into my house you worthless piece of garbage! And make it good! I might just rip off _only_ one or two of your limbs!"

Shaking, from either fear or blood loss the gold-eyed man rose to his knees in a spastic manner, and covering his wound stood, bowing deeply while not looking up. He managed to croak out, "M-my Liege, I was only on patrol wh-when a section of the tunnels caved in."

"And?! Finish so I can get started mutilating your useless skinbag!"

Daring to look up Forras coughed, blood leaking down his chin as he stared straight at his superior. "My King...the Phantom Train had suddenly appeared in the tunnels. It-it was badly injuried. I investigated for nearly a day and night for the cause...when I stumbled upon a s-survivor."

Ferocious whispers broke out among the crowd of onlookers.

Annoyed with all the noise Astaroth roared, **" _Shut your fucking traps, you bags of festering trash!"_**

That shut up everyone real quick and with a hand combing through his hair the Demon King took several steps forward, every time he did so, his form twisted and shrunk until a skinny, yet tall man with dark, olive skin draped in fine fabric and gold jewelry stood before the injured guard.

**_"Now,"_** He grabbed the bruised chin of the Demon before him and twisted it up till his throat was fully exposed. "A survivor?" Red eyes narrowing Astaroth snarled, "You **_lie_**." Barely moving, he backhanded Forras sending him sprawling to the ground.

Turning towards the crowd, he spread his arms out wide, the golden bangles around his wrists clanking while he addressed the wary on-lookers. "A SURVIVOR HE SAYS!" Whirling around in a dervish of silk and heavy satin, he spit in the man's direction, yelling, "DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL?!" Barefooted, he stalked over to the crumbled form of the other and kicked him in the ribs exactly where the Phantom train had nearly ripped him in half, causing the man to spit out a mixture of saliva, bile and blood.

"NO ONE SURVIVES A TRIP IN THE BELLY OF AN INFERNAL TRAIN!"

Harshly, he gripped the collar of Forras's tunic and lifted him off the ground, not caring to hear anymore from the gravely wounded man.

Gasping weakly past the blood pooling in his mouth, the silver-haired Demon tried to speak despite the choking grasp around his shirt. "B-but my King-"

"Be quiet!" Shaking his head, the prince of decay spat, "A survivor! You have a death wish. Spouting such trash! TO ME! Should I sever your tongue first or allow you to beg for mercy?" Cocking his head he grinned nastily, showing his wicked long fangs and serrated teeth before licking his lips. "OR...maybe I'll feed you to the other idiots who dared defy me. I'm sure if I leave you in dungeons tonight I''ll find nothing but a blood smear left in the morning! Hell, they may even lick that up too!" He threw his head back and laughed as if that was the funnest thing in the world. And nearly choked on his own tongue at the muttered words that left Forras mouth.

"His name...was Okumura Rin! He carried...a sword... It reeked of power... From Assiah..."

Still hiding behind the chimney, having listened to the entire conversation in hopes of finding an opening to create a distraction, Rin swore, reeling back. So much for saving Forras! His own ass was now in the fire! Thinking about what to do, he stood, ready to leap off the roof and back into the alley. He didn't blame Forras for saving his own ass but damnit! _If he catches me..._ All the teenager could think about was the mad cackling of his deranged "papa." And shivered. _Ah, hell no! I'm not going anywhere near that insane maniac!_

"I gave him my cloak... in case he escaped so I could track him."

"Fuck!" Realizing that he had been tricked since the very beginning Rin unfroze and ripped off the cloak, throwing it as far away from him as he could. Without waiting to see where it would land he whirled around, forgetting he wasn't exactly on a smooth surface. His foot slipped and in a bid to catch himself from falling off the roof he dug his nails deep enough into the clay of the chimney that he ended up breaking off a sizable chunk of it in his hand by accident.

Surprised gasp stifled, he let go of the clay in surprise, feeling it give way underneath his weight and leaned away from the falling rock almost stumbling off the sloped straw and metal roof anyway. He hadn't counted on it creating a fault line of cracks throughout the base of it. With one action he had unintentionally succeed in finding the structural weakness of the chimney and before he could let out a curse the entire thing wobbled and then crumbled in on itself with a clatter of stone and groan of wood.

Having it rained down on the civilians below definitely caught some attention but it was the fact that that particular street happened to lead to the square where Astaroth, the Demon King of Rot stood with Forras in hand that completely screwed Rin over.

_“GUARDS!"_

_Shit shit shit shit!_

There wasn't time to scramble away as there was suddenly a cloud of Coal Tar in his face. Batting at the little nuisances that were crowding around his eyes—trying to blind him no doubt—he lost his footing again.

And tumbled straight off the roof.

Hitting his face on something hard he rolled, landing violently on the roof of another house before flopping onto the canvas of a street stall directly below that due to his momentum. When he finally came to a stop he was spread eagle on his back, legs dangling above his head with a cast iron sauce pan embedded into his face. Tail wilting, Rin groaned in pain and derision. Nothing ever went his way did it?

A shadow appeared above his head and suddenly he was hauled to his feet by the scruff of his neck only to come face to face with a certain Demon King.

Who looked royally pissed.

"So...we meet again, eh _O.Ku.Mu.Ra?"_

The blue-eyed boy winced, face still red from where the pan had hit him and chuckled weakly, waving a hand while his tail curled in fear around his leg, Kurikara's fuduka strap dangling precariously in the crook of his other arm. "E... Hello?"

Teeth flashing in a menacing grin, the taller Demon narrowed his eyes and brought the younger male closer till he was so close he could smell the rancid stench of the others breath. "Oh, what a prosperous turn of fortune!~ Happy to see me, ain't cha little prince?! Keheheheheh!"

Remembering that the others tongue was just as long if not longer since the last time they met when it scraped a path along his neck up to his cheek leaving a trial of repulsive saliva in its wake, Rin shuddered, struggling weakly against his iron hold in an attempt to wipe it off. _"Gah! What the hell?!"_

Foregoing an answer to the others flailing in disgust, Astaroth looked behind him frowning and barked out over his shoulder, "Guards! Clean up this fucking mess! And as for the rest of ya fucks- GET BACK TO WORK!"

Saluting, the chain-mail wearing Demons began to yell orders and beat back the already scattering crowd leaving both of Satan's sons alone.

Turning back around, the frown melted into a self-satisfied smirk that Rin knew well. One that made him want to beat the snot out of the guy all over again. Ya know, if he wasn't like a full head taller then him.

Spotting the glower and pout aimed at him from his captive the lilac-haired man snickered meanly shaking the child he was still holding, "Now, now don't you worry. I'll make sure ya don't escape this time. In fact, I'll drag ya to Pandemonium myself! Satan-sama will be very pleased to have his youngest back! Kye~hehehehe!"

Narrowing his eyes, Rin gave the older man the middle-finger salute and growled, "Not a chance in hell!"

And then Astaroth was hit with the full length of a frying pan across his face courtesy of the navy-haired, half-Demon's tail.

**_"NYGAA! Ug-!"_** Stumbling backwards the Demon King dropped the smaller male and tried to staunch the bleeding of his broken nose, tears and anger hazing his vision a misty red. The blood splattered across his face didn't help.

**_"UW ITTLE MASTAD!"_ **

Tongue sticking out in derision, Rin scrambled away from the bellowing Demon and broke out into a full tilt sprint hauling ass like the devil himself was on his tail. Which if he didn't get away would be far more literal then anyone would have wanted it to be.

**_"OKUMURA RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"_ **

He was two blocks down and several hundred Demons deep by the time a chunk of building came hurling out from around the bend behind him, crushing several pedestrians and stalls in its path.

The Half-Demon swore and kept running regretting that there was people in the way but damnit he was so not going to see Satan face to face even if it killed him.

Koumaken slapping his leg as he pushed his way through the crowded bazaar he looked back only to see a cloud of Coal Tar hot on his trail. Squeaking in terror, the teenager pushed his legs to run faster, head whipping around for somewhere to hide from the manic chasing him.

Along the way he bumped into several Demons all carrying an assortment of dirt, dish wear and some odd looking food. He didn't have time to stop and help the ones he plowed into though and yelling a muffled sorry, he kept going leaving a wake of angry Demon merchants and customers behind him.

**_"STOP HIM!"_ **

The shout did the opposite in the large crowd causing people to stop and stare at the raging Demon King, allowing Rin to slip into an alleyway away from his pursuer.

He didn't stop running until he could no longer hear the sound of the other's rage filled screaming. Considering how loud the others shouts of rage were that was pretty damn far.

Gasping, Rin wobbled and leaned against a crumbling wall, face scrunched up in despair. It hardly mattered if he managed to get away from the Demon King. The fact was, he knew he was in Gehenna. It was only a matter of time before Satan himself came looking.

And Rin knew he didn't have a chance in Hell in hiding from _him._

Cursing, he smashed a fist against the brick and mud wall, sliding down to sit on his knees for a breather—he wasn’t winded, just terrified out of his mind and that made his heart race. What was he going to do? _I'm dead! I mean, sooner or later_ someone's _going to catch me..._

Biting his lip, the child curled into himself. He was alone. In a world he knew nothing about, filled with every possible human child's imagined monsters. One had already tried to eat him damnit!

How did things end up like this? All he had to his name was a sword he couldn't use and no doubt once the word spread, soon the entirety of Gehenna hunting his heels once the Demon god knew he was here. He didn't want this! Hadn't he been through enough?! But in the end... _Why..._

_Kusojijii..._ Had his foster father died for nothing?

_Just why?_

_Why was I...?_

"Mister?"

Head snapping up Rin sniffed weakly, eyes wide, only to come face to face with large, gold irises not a foot away from his.

"Gyah!"

Scrambling backwards the Half-Demon's back hit the wall with a smack and spine snapping forward he cradled his stinging head in his hands. "Damnit!"

Eye tearing up in frustration, Rin looked up again at the stranger standing not two feet from him.

Who was about three feet high...and very, very human looking.

Blinking in confusion, Rin wiped his eyes and took another look just in case he was hallucinating.

The little girl—because what else could it be?—dressed in a black and white petit-fours monstrosity blinked back with baleful golden eyes, twirling a long braid of crimson-colored hair around her small fingers. Confusion marred her face and scuffing a bare foot against the dirt, she asked again in that universally sarcastic yet innocent child manner, "Mister, are yous a dirt crab?"

Still staring in confusion they both just stayed still neither quite knowing how to deal with each other.

"D-dirt...crab?"

Brain stalling at that logic Rin tilted his head before looking down at himself. Through his journey—read: escape—from Astaroth he had managed to cover himself head to toe in red dirt and dust. A little mud was mixed in there too. In all actuality, it was the best disguise he could have asked for.

Understanding now what she had meant Rin pouted and wiping the dirt from his face—and only managing to smudge it more—he muttered, "Not a dirt crab."

The girl's mouth went "O"-shaped and she giggled.

Unable to be mad at her, the other child smiled wanly and catching on to the fact he had another Demon who didn’t look they were in any mood to chase him he asked, "Ne, I'm abit lost." _More then just lost..._ "Could you tell me where I am?" _Hopefully-_

Titling her head cutely, she parroted, "Lost?" And then jumped onto that statement with all the enthusiasm of a child that she looked like.

He allowed his chest to fill with a bit of hope at her sudden understanding.

"Cools! I'm lost too!"

She said it with such a blindingly wide smile on her fanged face Rin couldn't help but grin back. Even if it was more then a bit of a grimace. And what felt like a two-ton weight pressing down on his chest from depression. _Just great!_

"But I'm sure Willas can help yous! I was playings hide an' seek with hims but now I can't finds my way backsy..." She looked down at the ground mumbling, "I'm always getting losts, it makes Iggy mad a lot."

The lisp was quite frankly adorable but Rin refrained from saying so. Girls got weird when you called them cute, no telling what a Demon one would do. Plus, she was like...half his age. "I...Iggy? Is that your dad or something?" Standing up he dusted off his pants bewildered by the fire-hydrant red the girl suddenly became.

"Ig-?..." Her eyes became as big as saucers as she realized what she had said. "DADS?!" Squeeling, she whirled around hands clapped over mouth in horror. "MGHH!" Shaking her head and causing her braids to fan out around her she refused to look at him, shoulders slumped and despondent.

Face falling, the blue-eyed teen wondered what he had done wrong, his eye-twitching. "O...k. Um, so Willas you said?"

Glaring at him through her red hair she nodded but didn't take her hand away from her mouth.

Vein throbbing, Rin grumbled, "So... I guess we have to find him first eh?" Scratching the back of his head, he looked around muttering under his breath, "Troublesome..." He needed to figure out where he could set up camp for that night before another Demon stumbled onto him that was less then friendly but he wasn't about to just leave the little girl all alone, Demon or not she was just a kid! Eyes widening, he slapped his forehead before peeking back at her and asking sheepishly, "Um, what's your name?"

Peering at him in suspicion and with a pout, she hesitated before deciding something in her own mind. Removing her hands from her mouth, the golden-eyed girl grinned suddenly and did an odd little spin that ended in a curtsy, her maid-esqe dress flopping about. "It's Wisp! Ig-" Shamefaced, she finished, "I means, his Highness made me."

Before the full impact if that statement could hit him, something else, something _heavy_ knocked into his upper back knocking him flat on his face for what felt like the tenth time that day.

"Haha, the greata _Willow_ has foun' ya's Wisp!"

_"Willas!"_

Groaning in pain the teenager lifted his head out of the dirt to glower at the new arrival.

Who was standing on his back proudly. No more then eight years-old looking, he had pale almost translucent skin and wet, shaggy teal-colored hair that swayed much like his namesake. He was dressed much like a concierge from a black and white movie, a tiny hat tilted rakishly included.

_Eh? Another kid?_

And then a voice like a volcano screamed bloody murder. "COME BACK HERE YOU BRAT!"

A flock of something that looked like a mutated crow crossbred with a pterodactyl exploded out from behind a building startled by whoever was after the new addition to the back ally.

"Ah! Wisp hida me!" The child jumped off the ExWire's back and clung like a barnacle to the little girl's arm.

Sending an unimpressed look his way, she stomped her foot imperiously nagging, "Willa, yous idiot! Whys his Wateryness mads at ya now?!"

Rin could only watch as the little girl proceeded to box the other kids’ ears in a very violent manner that reminded him of a certain sword wielding, ninja woman.

"Umm, hey-"

"Yous always causing his Highnesses and Highnesses grief!"

"Wahhhh! Wisp! Stop being mean! I didn't mean ta! I really didn'ta!" He scratched the back of his head and then smiled roguishly as he ducked one of her flailing arms, "At leasta not _this_ time..."

And got hit upside the head for his troubles. "Yous a dingbat!"

"Whata?! Don'ta go acting all higha and mighty Wisp! I'm older then ya!"

Getting the distinct feeliing of being ignored, Rin let his raised hand flop to his side, an annoyed frown crossing his face as he watched the kids bicker like an old married couple. He resisted the urge to cover his ears as the argument reached a crescendo with Wisp yelling at the top of her lungs, "I hope their Highnesses flays ya alives Willas!"

And...

Then it hit Rin that her use of Highnesses was a lot like Forras with his "King" this, "King" that.

_Wait... No-_ _**“I’m the Chief Watchman for the Ninth Lower Tier. I serve my King and make sure that his domain remains secure from outside forces. Be it from beyond the walls or in this case…”**_

And one second after that he remembered that the kid, Willow was being chased.

Face falling in almost tired resignation, the blue-eyed Half-Demon whimpered, "Shit."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank all of you for your wonderful support, I look forward to your continued opinions, this wretch does so love constructive criticisms, and all together, yer witty witticisms.


	4. Trials and Tribulation and Tag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's better then one Demon King? Why, two more!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing the fabulous Egyn and dashing Iblis!~

* * *

      **Chapter Four: Trials and Tribulation and Tag**

* * *

"That is quite the understatement young man."

Dread pooled low in the navy-haired teens stomach and with his tail curled around his ankle, clutched Kurikara closer to himself for comfort. Refusing to turn around on the very principle of every scary movie he had ever seen _ever_ , he wondered if there was even a remote chance of escaping _another_ Demon King.

Right before two pairs of feet slammed into the front of his skull causing him to sprawl backward into the dirt for the second time that day/night. _Hey, hey, w-were there stars in the sky before?_

_"Yer/ya Highnesses?!?!"_

Twin voices rang out, one in excitement the other as a groan of dismay while he was dragged along anyway.

And Rin found himself staring up at a very tall, very male Demon, with a child in each of his hands. Wisp was hugging one arm and the other was currently holding Willow by his throat.

Broad in the shoulders but lean elsewhere, the man tried to comb his white and grey spiky hair back, the pair of odd-looking glasses tinted a pale slate perched across his aristocratic nose sliding down the bridge of it as he did. When he couldn’t reach his hair due to his new fleshy attachments, he sighed with an exasperated tone to his huffy scholar-like voice and attempted to remove the little fire demon from his white trench coat’s sleeve, "As for Willow, when I say scram he'll understand the full gravity of my meaning, yes? Or do I finally get to order the Ukobach in the palace kitchens to make _Willow stew?"_

The razor points of his dark pearl-tinted claws really hit home as they caught the skin of the water demon’s throat, causing the small child to whimper while the elder shook him in annoyance.

Paling an even more lily-white shade then his previous skin color the kid shook his head—as much as one could being partially choked—so hard it almost tumbled off while squeaking, "No, ya Highness, I understand ya, ya Highness!"

And with a burst of greenish light he exploded into a swirl of watery liquid-like fire, consolidating into a dog-shaped willow o'wisp before slipping out of the Demon King’s hold, shooting off to parts unknown. And nearly taking out another Demon who had just appeared bent over, panting next to Rin's sprawled form, raging, "Willow?! Agh! You brat, where the-?!"

Finished imitating a clam on the other man's clothes, Wisp jumped down and giving a quick curtsy as she skipped backwards she chirped charmingly, "Wisps will make suresy he gets backsy!" And then with a red flare and a loop de loop, a similar cat-like flame raced after Willow, warbling as she passed the satin-robed man—and nearly set his many colorful scarves on fire, "Ello, Good days yer Waterynesses~"

Leaving Rin all alone in an allay way with two very strange—and one who was sulking—Demons.

The one who had almost been bowled over by Wisp huffed, swinging his dark teal and sea-foam green braid of hair behind his thin shoulder as he straightened, before turning his attention to the other child in their midst. Stomping over on his straw sandal-clad feet, he came to stand across from the other Demon biting out, with cheeks puffed up in ridiculous outrage "Honestly, children these days! If any of our brothers acted like that Father would skin our hides!"

When he suddenly bent over Rin's form the ExWire got a good idea of just how _tall_ he was. Skinner then Amaimon and almost the same height as Mephisto—if not the exact same—the suddenly grinning Demon King nudged Rin with his sandaled foot, "Wouldn't you agree kid?" Then giving him a knowing look over his own pair of navy-tinted glasses, he turned to the other male and snickered maliciously, "Seeing how you were running from Rothy-"

Cutting in the ash-haired man finished, a slight but completely vicious glee honeying his baritone as well while he dusted off his black dress shirt, "We saw your work with the pan. Must we say, we became instant... _fans."_

Swallowing at the show of friendliness/malice from them both the blue-eyed child smiled awkwardly commenting in what he hoped wasn't too much of a squeak as he tried to subtly reach for his sword which had clattered only a few inches from his hand when Willow—who had dragged Wisp into the grasp of doom along with her—used him as a stepping stool, "Oh- Thanks?" He wasn't panicking, him? No. Not in a million years! _Help me...Anyone? Someone!_

"Yep, Rothy didn't know what hit 'em!" Bouncing in a way that billowed his shiny robes everywhere—and sent the many beads sewn on his clothes a clattering—the taller male snickered; while clapping his hands together as he danced in a little circle seeming quite pleased by the turn of events, his glasses crooked on his face. "I haven't seen him _that_ mad in _aaaaages~"_

Sliding his hands into his semi-formal white slacks the shorter of the two—even though it was only by an inch or two—smirked, managing to sound polite even though he had just stepped—gently—onto the tip of Rin's tail. "Such mischief! Ingenuous it was. Do try and stay that urge though."

Glancing sideways at the object that the younger kept darting his eyes towards he then eyed his fellow Demon and shook his head ruefully before raising a small eyebrow, adding almost sadly in the ExWire's direction, "As the _King of Fire,_ and third in the line of succession I wouldn't want to be forced to make a point. Say, in case you don’t cooperate, I might just break your tail."

Rin gulped and stopped trying to go for his Fallen Demon Sword.

Smiling like one would at a dog that did a particularly good trick, the older male shrugged. "Nothing personal, but I have a reputation to keep. Even if Father would be _furious_ if we brought back our little brother _damaged."_

At the sight of both of the Demon King’s—and in Egyn’s case, manic—grins a shear wave of terror rattled the Half-Demon all the way down to his bones. People didn't just spontaneously threaten to break other peoples’ limbs!

The urge to flee though was solely on the fact that they knew who he was. _Not good! Not good! RED ALERT! RED ALERT!_

Smile taking a congenially tilt, as if his companion hadn't just glibly suggested to commit bodily harm on a teenager he had just meet, the taller of the two joked, "Of course, we could just blame it on Rothy ~ Father never listens to that little shit anyways!" Then with a wicked gleam in his eye the Demon King turned his pale, teal blue eyes onto Rin and cocked his head while getting up close and personal, a smirk that was more teeth then skin really hitting home the razor sharp points of his needle-like fangs. With lethal points, Egyn pinched Rin’s cheek with dark teal talons, his own sing song tone tittering, "So ~ Wada'ya say? Can I can add some pretty scars to match that pretty face little bro? ~"

Without missing a beat the navy-haired Half-Demon grimaced while allowing his head to thump backward against the ground, wondering when in the hell did he become brothers with this psycho. "E... Please don't." He was so screwed.

Pouting, the man huffed, a slightly unhinged tone vibrating underneath his dismay, “What?! I’m the King of Water! Ya saying I’m not elegant?! That I suck?! That I’m a nut?! Pycho?! Unfit for the throne?! Why I outta-!” But before he could say anything else, the white-haired man beside him spoke in a deadpan, ignoring the shout of protest that he received when he reached over and slapped a hand to cover the taller male’s mouth while fixing his heavily bronze-rimmed glasses, "Enough, Egyn."

Glancing away from his fuming brother and down in what suddenly seemed like disinterest he sighed, with a bored detachment tinging his voice. "I'm not going to hurt you, little one." He still didn't let up on the child's tail though, in fact he did quite the opposite of what he was saying, grinding down on the small, thin appendage, eyes curiously dispassionate from their vividness earlier. "Unless, of course you misbehave. Little siblings should do as their elders tell them to. Don’t you agree?"

Feeling a shudder work its way down his spine at the others blasé tone—and the once more mention of some sort of familial bond between them—Rin winced at the pressure being applied to his sensitive limb. There really was only two options being applied here and one ended with him not being able to walk—or being able to block the pain long enough to stay conscious. Just the very thought of someone snapping his tail in two caused the small teen's stomach to roll in nauseous terror. _The lesser of the two evils it is then. I can't run away if I'm whimpering on the floor in pain..._

Struggling to hold his building abject horror of being brought before his birth father—because surely this Father they talked about was one and the same, if they were to be believed—Rin just nodded his head afraid that if he spoke that his voice would be several octaves higher then what was decent.

Groaning in disappointment, Egyn—who, sure did leave up to his name, the shark teeth were a big enough give away—just threw his hands up, spectacles almost sent flying while he grumbled in the others direction, "Such a killjoy, Iblis!"

He sounded more like a whiny brat, then a thousands of years old being but then again Rin was quickly beginning to realize that all Demon Kings seemed to be immature assholes. That liked to cause him emotional or physical pain.

The now named, Demon King of...Fire was it? Just allowed a half-sneer to grace his face before his emotions went blank again. "We are not here to have fun, _Eggy._ We are to bring our little brother back as soon as possible." Quirking a thin eyebrow at the dark teal-haired male, he grimaced in disgust, "Unless, you want _Astaroth_ to take credit for finding him."

Face falling into an equally as disgusted sneer Egyn crossed his arms and raised his nose up into the air. “AS IF! And don’t call me that!” Whirling around, he grabbed the front of Rin’s shirt and hauled him upwards before tossing him over his bony shoulder completely ignoring the startled squawk and growl that left the Half-Demon’s mouth when he was unceremoniously manhandled. Luckily, the looped tassel on the handle of his Koumaken had been within reach so that came along with him on his sudden career of imitating a sack of potatoes.

“Come on, let’s go! The faster we get this brat to Father the faster we can rub it into Rothy’s face!” Cackling like a mad man, he began to saunter off at a pace reserved for Olympic marathon runners.

“Uh?! Wait- You idiot, don’t run off-!”

Having just taken a corner at top speed—completely leaving Iblis behind in his not-so proverbial dust—the Water Demon took to the roof tops, a bounce in his step as he tottered precariously across the town’s shambled slates, heedless of any sort of obstacle in his way.    

Unable to keep totally silent in the face of his capture and kidnapping, Rin—who, by the way, was never to one to keep silent long in the face of adversity anyway—hissed out, tail flailing, whilst being jostled roughly as Egyn spun around an industrial water tower’s scaffolding, “Oi! I have legs you kno-!”

Unfortunately said adversity had the nimbleness of a minnow… And the attention span of a goldfish.

It was only after Rin finally batted the Coal Tar from his eyes and dusted off the now sticky sawdust from the demolished scaffolding he was stuck hanging half off that the world began to make sense again.

And it was one in which the water tower had been demolished, water sluicing everywhere from its fractured hull onto the splintered wood by none other than Astaroth.

**“OKUUUUMURRRRRRAAAAAAAA!”**

Who was back in Minotaur-mode. And hella pissed.

Squeaking in fright as the Demon King of Rot eyes turned towards him, the navy-haired teen wobbled and then toppled off the pile of wood he had been stuck to, only to fall face first into a puddle of water. _Damnit!_ _Not the face!_ And his weapon falling down with him, smacking the back of the blue-eyed teen’s head just added insult to injury. “Gngh…”

Clutching his once more smashed nose and dripping wet from the slightly disgusting water he was soaked with, Rin attempted to scramble to his feet in haste, not wanting to be caught on his ass when the murderous Demon King eventually came for him.

He need not have worried for the second it took for Astaroth to make a move toward him, a giant molten hammer found itself lodged in the others cranium by one irate Demon King of Fire.

Of course, the blow sent him spinning head over hoofs several meters away—casually demolishing three or four houses as he did so.

Twirling the long handled grip of the gigantic war hammer in his bare hands, the stoic Demon grinned a grin more fit on Egyn’s face, throwing all his smug prowess into his voice, the molten metal and dark swaths of ash staining his hands and clothes lending him a more regal yet sinister aura then before, “For someone who wishes to win Father’s favor you seem to lack the…finesse…of one that is supposed to have been born of godly blood, eh, _Rothy.”_

A shower of metal and other debris rained across the impromptu battle field as the Demon King of Rot emerged from the collapsed rubble of what would have been several poor Demons’ homes, screeching. **“What the fuck did you just say?!”**

Arching an eyebrow, the Fire King hummed, amused, “Deaf as well as dumb?” Teeth flashing in the light given off by his weapon, Iblis allowed his glasses to tilt rakishly upon his face as he ventured, “Perhaps,” Here he shrugged, tone laced with sardonic, insincere pity, “What everyone is saying is true?”

Growling at the elder Demon the younger prodded with a sneer while crushing a bit of a stone slab that was in his way to pebbles, “And what gossip is it that you, the oh so mighty King of Fire belittles himself to sneaking around and mingling with peasants to learn?!”

Undaunted by his blustered snipe, the more poised and collected of the two turned his back seemingly dismissing the other with no more than a smirk, tossing over his shoulder glibly, “Oh, just that your blood is as filthy as the trash heap Father lets you rule over.”

The wind blew for several tense seconds across the razed remains that constituted as a makeshift fighting ring before Astaroth, who, whilst snarling in utmost fury, wasted no time in pouncing upon the goading Demon King of Fire intent on wrapping his behemoth hands around his neck and ripping his smug head right off for his blasphemies dig at his linage. **_“MOTHERFUCKER!”_**

With a nimble side-step Iblis ducked to the side bringing his mighty hammer down upon the raging Rot King’s spine whilst he barreled past.

The resulting pile of wood and rubble buried the stemmed—more like volcanic—Demon King, leaving the white and grey-peppered male to snicker snidely to seemingly no one, “So weak. There’s a reason even a dunce like Amaimon is more capable of ruling the 8th Circle then you.”

Rin had watch all this play out with great trepidation and no little amount of awe from his hiding place until, and with a great shudder, the very water he was soaked with and that had pooled in vast amounts upon the devastated area reared up and with a horrendous speed gathered in the sky.

The Water King’s voice filtered through the torrent of water, distorted by the very mass of it, “Owwi! No pulled punches, you went straight for the jugular, little bro~” Before it all swirled inward and disappeared into thin air.

And then a heavy heat haze appeared over Iblis’s shoulders and Egyn fell out of nowhere right onto the smaller male’s back, catching the younger in what looked like a bone-crushing headlock, singing uproariously, “Like I got yer aorta Iggy! ~” Right before he received the self-same hammer to the face via the annoyed looking Demon’s flick of the wrist.

“Kindly keep your paws off my person _Eggy!”_ The sheen of light from his currently molten hammer sent a murderous glare streaming across his glasses towards the smoldering heap that was his sibling sprawled halfway off the building they were on top of currently.

That caused a meltdown on the Demon King of Water’s part and all of a sudden all-out war was being raged as whip of pure water wrapped around Iblis’s neck yanking him clear off the building and into the adjacent one with an almighty “smack.”

As those two continued to squabble amongst themselves the navy-haired teen still hiding behind a stack of wooden debris a few meters thick realized that in the ensuing fight all three Demon Kings had temporarily forgotten about him. _Now’s my chance!_ Crowing in delight Rin set to start sneaking away but barely made it a foot before his boot crunched down on something.

Startled, he whipped his head around to see if that had alerted his attempted kidnappers to his whereabouts but they were still fighting—Iblis interestingly enough pulling Egyn’s braid while grinding his likewise booted foot into his back.

Sweat dropping at their lack of concern for the other Demon King who was no doubt lurking nearby nursing his bruised ego—and back—ready to rip them both limb from limb, Rin glanced back to what he had stepped on that had made such a loud crunch, so that he could avoid its brothers scattered about the place during his escape attempt.

Lo and behold completely in line with his abysmal luck what he found was the crushed screen of his own mobile phone—who upon falling out of his pocket earlier and still surviving the gigantic puddles of water that had once flooded the gravel coated ground had finally met its demise at his own hands—eh, feet.

Shoulders and tail slumping with a sinking feeling in his heart tinged with just a little bit of annoyance and bitterness at all the horrible things that had happened to him that day Rin wondered if maybe this was all a setup by some jerk ass of a god who made him just to laugh at his pathetic struggling through life. It was during this—and the angry mashing of the power button to see if anything was salvageable from the phone his foster father had given him—that the blue-eyed child saw through the cracks of the screen…the unbelievable sight of three white bars. _No way…_

And once again hell broke loose just as a little bit of hope was found.

_Oh, you have got to be kiddin' me!_

Astaroth had, for once, used his brains and snuck up behind the two other Demon Kings while they were duking it out. Which resulted in Egyn being used bodily as a club to punt the Demon King of Fire clear across the destroyed section of the slums they were in.

Ducking behind a fallen beam not seconds after Iblis had been struck right through another building by his own brother-turned weapon—who had also been sent flying somewhere—Rin clutched the phone to his chest afraid that it too, might fall prey to the madness happening now not just 10 yards from his hiding spot.

Which consisted mainly of yelling of very explicit, impossible things that one could possibly do to themselves and things being pulverized into itty bitty pieces. But Rin wasn’t worried about _that._ In fact, he used it to his advantage and after several frustrated attempts finally managed to hit the call button. Now all he could hope for was that Yukio would pick up.

* * *

**10 Minutes Earlier; 5:03 AM, November 25, 2013; True Cross Order, Japanese Branch Meeting Room**

* * *

“And so, Okumura-san, you are testifying that Okumura Rin was indeed pulled into the Phantom Train? And that upon further investigation and searching that the front car where you had last seen the son of Satan was gone…quite possibly returned to Gehenna at midnight with your brother still inside?”

A young man of fifteen with his right arm in a sling stood in front of a long wooden table, his features slack and eyes dully staring straight ahead. The perfect picture of business. But on inside he was anything but. “Hai.”

A different but just as somber voice heaved a heavy sigh and followed with, “The very existence of a Phantom Train is to lure victims inside until it reaches Gehenna where it devours their souls… Even if he survived the crossing…”

Head bowed, a young girl wearing the female version of the True Cross Academy's uniform stood silently behind the dour, younger twin, wondering if she would ever see the elder one ever again. She watched the heart-wrenching sight of Yukio’s shoulders losing their stiffness only to slump downwards.

An auburn and blonde-haired beauty wearing the Exorcist’s working coat but little else protested, gripping the wood table harshly, “But surely there is _some_ way-”

The third and final member of the Grigori framed in blue finished slightly more sympathetic to the witness before him and the woman then the other two, “I’m afraid that if Okumura Yukio’s and Moriyami Shiemi’s testimony is indeed what happened…then Okumura Rin is no longer alive-”

“Well, now _that_ may not be true.” All heads turned to the Demon King of Time, who sat just two spaces down from the Grigori three at the nearly empty conference table. Mephisto, clad in his white suit—instead of his normal, even more clownish attire—folded his hands and spoke in a slightly more upbeat tone, clarifying, “Seeing how Okumura Rin is in fact, the son of Satan, and the previous investigation of the late Paladin Fujimoto Shirou’s death at the hands of said being concluded with the opening of a small Gehenna Gate of which Satan attempted to drag Okumura Rin through…”

Yukio’s head snapped up in shock, having never heard of that part of the tale of events leading to his foster father’s demise.

Everyone else was equally stunned. Including the impasse features of one Arthur Augusto Angel.

Seeing this, a smile of fanged proportions graced the amethyst-haired male’s pale yet sharp features. “Well, a measly, if quite gentle transition into Gehenna on board a Phantom Train would hardly kill him.”

Eyes glowing like lanterns, the Demon finished spreading his palms wide, “It only stands to reason that from what we saw of the recordings right before the Phantom Train’s front car vanished that Okumura-kun may have been able to vanquish the Train beforehand. If that is truly the case, and I do believe that it is, then he entered the tear created in between our two worlds made by the Train. And thus he would still be alive. Trapped in Gehenna but alive none the less.”

Staring at the smirking Demon sitting at the table, the younger Okumura started forward, a desperate hope in his eyes and a plea on his lips, “So Nii-san is-?!”

Grimacing, the powder blue robe-clad leader returned, cutting the teen off, “If that is a reasonable assumption then it is still a moot point. Without a means to return he might as well as be dead for he cannot leave, and we cannot retrieve him.” In what was perhaps the most astonishing display of apathy on the Grigori’s part the man addressed the young Exorcist who had visibly wilted at his statement. “You know this, Okumura-sensei… I regret this. I truly do. Okumura Rin was…without a doubt- Had shown the most astonishing determination I have ever witnessed among even our Human ExWire candidate’s.”

“What’s more…” The eggshell pink clothed Grigori member nodded as well adding regretfully, “Gehenna is the Demons’ realm it goes without saying. Satan, no doubt, has already laid claim to him. …I believe Okumura Rin is lost to us. A grave loss for all I should think. To have fallen into the hands of such a beast… I pity the child…”

The final member wearing varying shades of verde and grass-green cloth followed wistfully, “He had shown such promise too-”

Agreeing, the feminine sounding one began, “Yes, this is truly a loss for the Order. A weapon of such proportions has fallen into the hands of Assiah’s most dangerous enemy… The Branch Chiefs should be contacted and all of our holdings fortified thrice fold-”

Just then the brunette haired male who had been wallowing in his own self-pity ever since waking up to the news that his brother, his only sibling, was lost to him in Gehenna never to return felt his phone vibrate, it’s mechanical jingle alerting him to a call. Numbly bringing it out with a slight tremble to his hands and hitting the Answer button the Exorcist robotically yet still dutifully answered, his mind elsewhere within the dark confines of his own mind, {This is Middle First Class Okumura Yukio, I’m cur-}

{ ** _“YU-KIO!”_** }

Nearly dropping the phone in shock, the beryl-eyed teen shot straight up from his standing slouch with a gasp, eyes wide in disbelief as he grasped hold of the phone with both hands, {“NII-SAN?!}

Everyone turned to look, confusion on their faces at the normally calm and silent Exorcist’s seemingly random outburst.

Shura was the first one to respond, eyes furrowed. “What’s-?”

He caught her questioning statement and then everyone else’s looks before answering numbly, still in shock, “It’s- It’s Nii-san…”

Then loud enough everyone could hear him from the other side of the connection, Rin yelped, {“OH FUCK!”}

Realizing what was happening the crimsoned-haired Exorcist jumped into action and catapulting out of her chair jabbed the frozen twin before her in the side, nearly shouting, “Turn on the speaker, you Moley Four-Eyed Scaredy Cat!”

Fumbling for what felt like an eternity Yukio did as she commanded once he was finally lucid enough to focus and managed to hit the correct buttons despite the shaking he could not will to stop, all the while the sound of a fight began to escalate on the other side of the line. All of a sudden the quiet meeting room was flooded with the self-same noises, before abruptly a taunting voice full of rough undertones came across-

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And CUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!~


	5. The Echo from the Mirror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1, 2, 3, and a fourth! If only Rin didn't have the Devil's own luck! Azazel disagrees strongly. Satan's not too happy with being forced to get off his lazy bum either. And no, you may not raise the rating to Explicit! Damn it, we talked about this you trigger happy Demon God! Strictly Gen and feel-good family fun ahead!!!

* * *

 

**Chapter Five: The Echo From The Mirror**

* * *

 

_{“Why then, do you pull out your Demon Heart, little brother?”}_

More loud crashes and the rumbling of something big collapsing echoed across the distance.

Yukio, unable to keep quiet any longer blurted out in a very distinctly panicked voice that was normally not showcased, “Who was that Nii-san?!”

{“Jesus, quieter, you Moley Megane! I’m trying to hide over here!”}

Cold sweat beginning to bead across his forehead and on his palms, the brunet who had previously felt a vicious joy surge in his chest as his twin’s voice, croaked with dread, “Nii-san…who are you hiding from?”

There was a quite short, but telling pause and laughing nervously the navy-haired teen on the other end answered over the sound of something being demolished, {“Eheheh... E, I might have run into Astaroth…again?”}

Shura was nearly strangling Yukio with the death grip she had on his shoulder, eyes wide in disbelief, “The King of Rot?! Rin, ya idiot! What the hell are yer doing?!”

He continued sheepishly over the tinkling of glass breaking, {“Um…well… It wasn’t my fault! He just showed up and then these two kids wanted to play tag and then-and then-!”}

_{“The likes of you are pathetic, not even capable of acting like one befitting our Father’s glory, you rage as if a child having a temper-tantrum!”}_

There was silence. {“And then Iblis…”}

The line suddenly cut out with static and for a few daunting seconds, no one spoke.

Shiemi was the first—and only one to do so—a quizzical tilt to her head included, with her face pinched in anxious worry. “Ano…Isn’t Iblis the name of a Demon King too?”

And then a screechy voice filled the air as the phone picked up the signal again, _{“Yeah, you bring shame upon our royal line!”}_

The teen on the other end added quickly with a squeak, {“And that would be Egyn!”}

With an unimpressed deadpan, Mephisto—who had moved to the shorter Exorcist’s side without anyone noticing—grabbed the phone with two fingers as if it was going to bite him, and dryly asked into with an eyebrow twitching, “Okumura-kun…you are in the middle of a three-way fight between Astaroth, Iblis, and Egyn are you not?”

The tell-tell sign of no answer on the other line rendered his answer moot, for they all knew that if anyone were to actually find themselves in such an outrageous situation it would have been one Okumura Rin.

{“E…Well, I mean, technicallyit’snotafight-”}

“Then pray tell, what the fuck is it Nii-san?!”

Everyone cast wary eyes at the younger twin who seemed to be getting quite flustered for all the right reasons. But coming from someone who was usually so straight-laced it came across a tad bit more disturbing.

“Why do you do this?! I told you to focus on the mission! I told you to not to-! And yet still-! Now you’re in Gehenna and we can’t get you out!”

Shura herself, leaned a bit away from the now shouting teen who had snatched the cellphone from the True Cross Headmaster. She had never seen him this agitated before but that look on his face… “Yukio…”

“When are you going to learn that your actions have consequences Rin?!”

Once more there was silence, one that lasted for far more than a minute static crackling in and out. This time they could distinctly hear someone screaming in rage and the great screech of metal rending behind the empty, echoing static.

And then there he was, voice full of hurt and rough edges as if the blue-eyed ExWire was choking back another emotion. {“Dammit Four-eyes… I know that! It’s not like I want to be here! But… But ya can’t just tell me what me and Shiemi did was wrong! What da’ya think the Kusojijii would have done huh? Just let those souls get eaten?! AS IF!”} There was a pause and then the navy-haired teen practically whispered before growling, {“So stop yelling. Or do you want me to get carted off to Satan, ya Moley- Nygah?!”}

* * *

 

**[In Gehenna…]**

* * *

 

Rin desperately glanced—offended still—at the device he was clutching to his ear as he found himself trapped between the mangled metal struts of what looked like a rusted bridge—and the steel like-embrace he otherwise found himself in—as yet another weirdo showed up to harass him.

“E, well. Fuck. I think I just ran into another one…”

And he had quite literally done so.

The somewhat wide-eyed expression on the guy’s face made it seem as if he was just as surprised as the blue-eyed teen was to find himself with the small child in his arms.

Between having finally connected to his younger brother’s cellphone through a miraculous turn of fortune for the ExWire, he had also managed to make it all the way to a rusted-as-all-hell bridge that spanned an almost carnivorous looking river that cut through the shanty-town that he was being chased through—or at least, _had_ been before the three Demon King’s tailing him began a lethal sibling rivalry in front of his eyes.

The constant swivel his head had been on plus the cutting words that had been thrown at him through the phone had blinded him to the path he had taken.

And that is how he found himself in the crushing embrace of a wispy, white-haired man, who he had unfortunately tumbled into. Who was looking at him with a type of curiosity fit only for a mentally-challenged man-child. The beige bathrobe he was sporting hung off his figure like a empty sack just adding to the unnatural appearance of the man. The blank gaze of his more mint green than teal blue eyes betrayed his previous surprise when a gleam of something unnamable crossed them, sharpening the unnaturally wide ruby red iris—that Rin himself possessed—into something that was so far flung from disinterest that the navy-haired teen flinched, tail curling in on itself.

* * *

 

**[In Assiah…]**

* * *

 

Everyone paused and Yukio choked over his next fury-filled words, paling drastically over Rin’s shout.

For in the background…

_{“I see… Found you.”}_

* * *

 

**[With Rin…]**

* * *

 

“I see… Found you.”

The Demon King’s—for what else could he have been? —rough, almost sleep-idled timbre scrapped across Rin’s skin like a cat’s tongue. It would have been pleasant—in such a way that was kinda unfathomable to the young teen—if he didn’t know better. The slightly dusty-smelling Demon’s overwhelming interest in the child he held allowed the taste of burning ozone to reach Rin’s senses. Just like the three previous idiot who practically wore it like giant kick-me signs right on their faces this guy also was positively dripping in it. Oh, yes. This guy was even more dangerous than that jerk Iblis had been. Even if he did seem somewhat familiar…

The wind tugged fiercely at their clothes and gulping down the furious yell he wanted to lambast the guy with, Rin instead found himself wincing out in a high-pitched voice, “Um? You wouldn’t happen to want to let me go?”

Still staring at him, the obviously older male shook his head slowly, the nearly see-through strands of his hair sticking up haphazardly like a porcupine’s quills quivering with the action. “Why…would I? I just…found little brother?” As he proceeded to rub his face all over the younger boy’s, the image the slow-manner of his speech portrayed was misled by the giant, threatening tooth-filled smile he sported.

_Are those…?_ Yes, definitely flowers. Sparkling. What was the guy, a friggen’ _rose_ _bush?!_

Not quite grasping that yes, he was in fact beginning to get used to his so-called big brother’s molestation of his person—or the fact that they seem to not have any understanding of personal space—Rin squeaked out in an almost embarrassing even higher-pitch, while pushing the guy’s face away with the palm of his hand, tail flaying behind him, “Most people introduce themselves first you know?!”

{“If that is who I think it is… Hair as white as snow and longer than Shura’s, wearing some sort of pajamas, yes?”}

 Looking weirdly at the cellphone that was crammed against his ear due to his struggling, the ExWire replied just for a second remembering he had it, “Ah, yeah… How did you-?”

The conversation not directed at the Demon King currently seemed to pass over his head and the previous yelled comment had quite an unfortunate effect. The elder paused in his administrations on the wiggling teen, with a tilted head. “Ah… Father and little Blanco lied.”

Just…not one Rin really wanted to contemplate this side of the universe…or ever.

“Your even…cuter then they said...you were.”

The face nuzzling became more frenzied.

Feeling a shiver travel up his spine, the teen winced, pushing the guy’s face away even further while bending over backwards as far as possible, face greying in desperation. “Ok, I don’t care who the hell you are anymore! Let. Me. Go!”

Almost oblivious to the shorter male’s struggles the silver-haired Demon King hmm’d out almost absent-mindedly, “Me? I’m Azazel… King of Spirits…I like pomegranates…my favorite color is peppermint…and I’m the third eldest son of Satan and the sixth in line for succession but don’t…tell Iggy that. Everyone says that I am a lazy, good-for-nothing, shut-in.”

The last part was said without pause and a disturbingly placid smile that was quite at odds with what he was actually saying as if he was proud of all those horribly barbed labels he was stuck with via everyone else’s opinions.

“Yer…not right in the head are you.”

Rin didn’t phrase it like a question as he stared blandly at the man through the gaps in his own fingers. “And peppermint isn’t a color!” As if that mattered one wit in the grand scheme of things.

Azazel nodded matter-of-factly into the palm. “That’s…why I’m in charge…of the seventh circle.” Then he frowned slightly. “And Father said it is. His is…checker-board.”

As if that explained everything from why the sky was blue and the answer to life was a numerical number decided by mice.

* * *

 

**[As Yukio nearly crushes his cellphone…]**

* * *

 

Having heard the entire stilted conversation Yukio clenched his teeth, eyes wide in disbelief. _Nii-san…_

Shura just cursed every deity she never believed in—all of them, that was—and threw up her hands in disbelief, grumbling to herself. Only Rin could be idiot enough to run into four Demon Kings in a single day!

Mephisto almost winced. Perhaps setting up those cell reception spells around Gehenna was perhaps not the brightest of ideas…

Shiemi, though was perhaps the most collected of all of them. Even with that look of worry on her face she unknowingly went for the throat. “Umm, Headmaster?”

Everyone’s attention turned to the blondie in the lull of noise from the other side of the universe.

Their attention made her fidget but mustering all her courage she stumbled out, “Ah, what… What did he mean by- By little brother? I thought Rin and Yu- O-Okumura-sensei were the only ones…?”

Deafening silence decimated the room before Yukio clamped his hand down on the polka-dotted ascot the Demon King of Space was wearing not two feet away. Calmly turning his head slowly, creakily like a china doll’s, a most sinister look reflected in his glasses and across his pearly whites. He seemingly ignored the way Mephisto let out a chocked gasp at the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it movement to robotically state with a bland smile on his face, “Yes, what, exactly did he mean by “little brother,” _Sir. Mephisto. Pheles_?”

Given a good solid few seconds to let that sink in everyone allowed their minds to wonder down _that_ line of thought.

Before the blonde had voiced it though, the question had already been lingering in the back of Yukio’s mind for some time, the vague notion curled there now given thought. The brunette just happened to be an amazingly good problem-solver—no thanks to his genetics. But even a well-adjusted adult has a trauma or two they shove in a box and don’t give credence to.  “Or should I call you Samael? Maybe even…Onii-san?”

Not liking the look in his—admittedly youngest brother’s face, dear all the saints above and below did he perhaps mistake Rin as the full-blooded Demon twin of the two? —Samael grimaced at the sudden turn of events, masking it as a humorless smile.

“I suppose…if it pleases you.”

No one was ready for him to outright admit to it. The Grigori might have let out a gasp—or two.

“That is…If you can even grasp a simple understanding of the fact that to someone like myself or the other Demon Kings…” Here he raised an amused eyebrow, a condescending tilt to his head. “Would deign to consider an infant of your caliber even an organism worth thinking of as a relation? Then yes, feel free to attach a familial connotation to my name.”

The shock of his sudden statement confirming everything caused the brunet teen to let go of the elder, allowing the older man to fix the piece of cloth around his throat. A twinge of annoyance appeared tangible at its mussed state before he replaced it with almost a sheepish grin and shrug of the shoulder explanation. As if something of that caliber of a revelation happened every day.

“But, ah, for a millenniums old being Satan would perhaps have had a dalliance or two during his long existence—or mid-life/existential crisis as it were…?” A ponderous look crossed the older man’s face as he rubbed his goatee in thought before quickly snickering, “And I might have been a product of said dalliances the second time around? Lucifer Aniki being number one?”

A sneer traced his face with something a tad bit more contemplative then what his wide eyes and tone suggested. “You didn’t think that the Demon Kings were just random beings that simply occurred for no reason? We are products of our environment. Just like when a new species mutates in an Assiahian ecosystem, we exist because there was a need for us to become what we are today. We are the Royal Family that rules Gehenna, the checks and balances to humanity.” His sneer became more pronounced. “Or did you think the Exorcist’s are really more than glorified, low-wage pest controllers, handling the dregs of Gehenna that slips past us into Assiah from ours?”

Drawing back from his previous—more than just arrogant stance—an outright disgruntled cough escaped his throat, one he politely covered with a fist, another sheepish grin gracing his fang-filled face. “The fact that there is such a gap between myself and Azazel should tell you that the rest of our siblings were just as big as a surprise for Gehenna. And perhaps not so much accidental but the inevitable. Father can hardly control himself now, and that’s with his Ego awoken. Whatever he was before… That we don’t remember much of though, or what we were… The sheer fact that we know him to be one half of our progenitor at all is telling don’t you think?”

Theatrically, he combed his hair gesturing to the heavens with a flip and roll of his wrist. “But to think, once his Consciousness awakened that he would even consider attempting conception with something as frail as your mother right of the bat! With a human of all things?!” Here he peered curiously at Yukio, a glint in his eyes that spelled trouble of all sort of proportions. “Why indeed? Was it she who put him up to that? He said it was on a whim. A mere curiosity! But while his mind was still reeling from having just woken from the death of his apathy to come across that idea so quickly? It was a long time coming, there was no doubt that he was a cruel, uncaring existence before _that incident_ but still…”

“It does beg the question…”

Here he looked away, more pondering, more contemplative then his usual frivolous attitude.

“If not her…And not him…Then who?”

* * *

 

**[Across the Mirror…]**

* * *

 

His attempt at trying to break away from the other foiled, Rin slumped against the older man, his feet still dangling about half a meter off the ground—what was it with these freakishly tall people?! And what the hell was with all these older brothers he never knew about breaking out of the woodwork like cockroaches?!

Better yet, why were all of them unilaterally insane?!

“-and then I followed all the Hobgoblins to the center of their nest inside the castle walls. I never knew they had such good décor.”

Eyeballing the albino man, Rin emptily nodded back not at all enthused by his elder sibling’s insistence on telling him bed-time stories.

Especially when he could hear the sound of the other three idiot’s battle getting closer and closer.

Tears leaking down the side of his face in streams the blue-haired teen mentally wailed, _“What did I ever do to deserve this?!”_

Oblivious to the encroaching horror headed their way and to his younger brother’s angst Azazel continued to babble senselessly, only interrupted finally when a brilliant streak of red and orange arched over the horizon of the slum before splashing violently into the raging river the bridge they were on sat across.

Blinking, the dense Demon King smiled brightly if a bit vapidly, “Ah, a shooting star! Those are good luck Father says,” A confused look crossed his face for a moment. “E, or was it bad? Something about catapults being auspicious?”

Ignoring the mumbling idiot, Rin saw the “shooting star” for what it really was and began to struggle anew, whispering into the cellphone he still had in his hands. “If your still there, HELP! This white-headed guy, Azaru- Azazu-? Wait, was it Azuri?”

It took a few seconds for a response to cross the line but the information passed was without a doubt of much import.

{“Azazel? Yes, albino, a bit spacey? He’s a triple threat. He can, and will not hesitate to rip your mind into tatters. One piece of advice? Don’t run. Just quietly slip away, he tends to be a bit… forgetful. Especially after that _incident…”_ }

Freezing, Rin gulped and replied out loud without really realizing it. “Eh, I don’t think I can…”

“Samael?” The previous fugue the other had descended into lifted for a few seconds at the unexpected noise just enough for the older man to cock his head in realization. “Is…that really him?”

Rin paled, and he almost fainted from blood loss when he heard the rest.

 {“-And Satan is not far behind, he only let’s Azazel out of the castle when he needs someone hunted down. In this case, you-}

And then the cellphone was plucked out of his hand. A very disquieting look crossed Azazel’s normally dazed, dreaming face before he spoke very slowly and menacingly towards what he concurred to be Samael’s voice. “Big brother…why is little brother all alone? You are supposed to be watching him, aren’t you?”

{…}

Whatever was said across the line was lost to the sudden gust of wind that hit the bridge like a hammer. If Rin hadn’t been chained in place by the others arm he had no doubt that he would have been blown straight off.

As it were the rusted bridge creaked and quaked under the sudden weather change and the navy-haired youth wondered in somewhat of a panicking manner if the whole thing was going to come crashing down—to what seemed to be a mile-high drop straight into the rushing black water shrouded by a thin layer of fog down below.

That notion wasn’t dispelled in the least when a strut somewhere further down crumbled like a paper ball and went tumbling over the side much as if someone had just tossed a candy-wrapper out of a moving vehicle, the wind taking it as if it weighed no less than a feather.

“I see…” The wind’s howl turned to a whistle of a dying steam engine before quieting suddenly. The abrupt silence seemed eerie to the young ExWire’s ears and the look on his older brother’s face was flat.

And then he smiled. “I had forgotten, how is Shirou by the way?!~ We haven’t talked in ages! That rascal, he’s probably busy flipping women’s skirts and what not! ~”

The genuinely happy question shocked Rin. That and the fact the Demon King seemed to have done a complete 180-degree personality switch—and seemed to have been on friendly terms with his foster father.

Before Rin could even ask a question about the outrageous thing he had just overheard a shudder rocked the bridge even greater than the wind previously had. Any further questioning was forestalled by what transpired next.

* * *

 

“I’m gonna skin that mother-fucker alive!” An absolutely livid Egyn slopped water everywhere while waving away the steam obscuring his vision as he attempted to balance on a trembling I-beam. A limp Iblis dangled from under his arm, who was the cause of the heat haze clouding the others vision. Being thrown into a freezing river wasn’t exactly his brother’s idea of a good time. Him being the Fire King and all, it made sense that magma didn’t mix well when cold—or at all, as was the case with the almost granite-incrusted Demon who was semi-incoherent from the sudden shock to his system. Flipping his almost frozen—and more so then normally—waterlogged locks, the Demon King of Water huffed childishly, grumbling out murderously, “Only I’m allowed to throw Iggy into the water!”

At that moment, the bridge crumbled inward as the horned menace known as Astaroth landed on the rusted metal, crushing the metal plates into scrap. If the walkway had been any thinner, he would have certainly gone straight through it like it was wet paper.

“YOU BASTARDS! I’m going to string your entrails over my mantle!”

Besides his normal disposition, the loss of one of his beloved ram horns to Egyn’s and Iblis’s superheated water-whip-saw combo had sent the King of Rot into an unfathomable rage.

Distracted by the three-way battle coming to a head not a few meters where Azazel was standing with Rin in his arms, the Demon King temporarily forgot about the phone in his hand. Choosing to gape at his sibling’s death match the demon pouted and—letting both the phone and Rin drop to the unstable bridge’s walkway on his knees—mussed his hair in frantic worry. “Nani?!~ You idiots! Why are you fighting this timeeeeeee? ~”

The disturbing sight of his flailing entranced Rin to where he almost forgot he had been let go. But when Azazel began to wobble in the other Demon King’s direction across the creaking metal the teen scrambled to his feet and mourning the loss of his cellphone since it had skittered in the same direction the Demon King was stumbling towards, decided to hightail it while the getting was good.

Of course, it was at this moment that Iblis started to wake up and Astaroth descended upon the two brothers with a wrecked I-beam in hand, intent on smashing the two into paste.

Several things happened in this moment,

“Astaroth, stop! ~ Father’s gonna kill us all! ~”

“Oi, oi you bastard, you want to send us all into the drink ya brainless amoeba?!”

“I’ll mash your brains so much you won’t even be considered a liquid anymore you asshole!”

Then the I-beam turned from rust red to orange-hot I’mturningintoslag in the Demon’s hands.

“Who _said_ …you were permitted…to talk to us like that, **_you worm?”_**

Iblis was understandingly pissed. But when he turned his flames onto the metal in Astaroth’s hands, the Demon let it go out of reflex—rot and fire weren’t on the best terms materially and literally speaking. The beam in its superheated state fell to the metal plates and _kept going,_ cutting through the already severely weakened construct with the sheer heat wafting off it.

This is when things went to hell.

The sagging bridge finally decided it had had enough punishment and along the same vein as a cheap chopstick, it broke in two from the weight and pressure centered at its focal point. Where the Demon King of Rot had stood, a rent like a gaping tooth-filled maw made its presence known with a horrendous screech that was amplified by the steep rock walls leading down, down, down into the rushing water below.

Over the noise made by the dying bridge, everyone on the structure screamed in some sort of manner as they lost their footing and began to slide off the now almost 75-degree angled walkways.

Egyn caught himself reflexively on a scrap of metal and flipped upwards to balance precariously on it even though falling in would have done him no damage at all, but hey, it would have been the pinnacle of indignity if he fell off like a n00b.

Iblis, who was closer to the edge then his watery brother scrambled for a second out of surprise from the sudden development of events and then with pure instinct halted his decent by welding his hands to the metal.

Astaroth was in a much bigger predicament, his heavy mass had him at a severe disadvantage and he immediately was sucked over the side by the displacement of gravity. His strength though, was unparalleled within the Royal family with the exception of Amaimon. Hanging off the ripped metal webbing sticking out of the broken and bent struts was as piece of cake. He could have done without the heckling from Egyn calling him a fatass but it was better than getting battered by the raging torrent beneath his feet—urr, hooves.

Poor Azazel though. He was caught so off guard that he ended up stepping one the phone he had dropped—which wedged in an overturned pocket of metal—and slipping, tipped forward even more so then planned since he had been in the middle of jumping to intercede in the fight. A significant amount of broken metal and rubble followed and literally rolling down the steep slope of metal he caught himself on a piece of rubble sticking out a few feet from where Astaroth had landed on the bridge in the first place. The falling debris had other plans in mind though.

Having saved themselves, the other Demon’s King’s watched in macabre interest as they finally noticed the older male’s presence.

“AZAZEL?!”

“Wha-why are you here?!”

“Not good.”

Confused, the tan pajama-wearing Demon muttered nervously, “Oh, well, uh, Father sent m-”

Only for a piece of sharp metal to hit him over his head before he could complete his sentence, blood pouring out of the gaping wound gauged deep into his cranium. The blow snapped the white-haired male straight into unconsciousness and going limp he continued his descent.

“Damn it Azazel!”

It was only Astaroth’s quick thinking that saved him from the water rumbling below. But it was just as his large palm snagged the collar of his brother that they all came to realize he hadn’t been the only one falling on that side of the bridge.

* * *

 

Still clutching his Koumaken Rin dangled uselessly from the hilt of his sword that was wedged in between some twisted scraps of metal that used to be one of the bridge’s supports. His other arm was just as worthless, having been mangled when he went tumbling straight into the metal his sword was stuck in. The blood dripped thickly from his torn open wrist and forearm down into the void and his shoulder throbbed in time with his heart which beat loudly in his ear’s drowning out even the roar of the water below. The wind began to pick up again as the bridge no longer obscured its passage and he swayed dangerously over the looming precipice. “Itai! Why the _hell_ does this shit always happen to _me?!_ ”

Tail curled around his pants leg, he whimpered in pain while attempting to lift himself up with his one good hand wrapped around Kurikara so that he could wedge one of his dangling feet into a ledge that was sadly just a little bit too high above him to reach.

The blue-eyed child thought he had it but then a wave of dizziness hit him from the exhaustion of having been chased through Pandemonium’s lower level’s as well as the severe loss of blood he was experiencing. His good hand slackened its hold for only a second but it was enough. In the teen’s struggle to get a better grip from where his fingers almost slipped off the hilt’s ito wrapping the weapon was jiggled enough that the saya began to slip out of the rubble it had been caught in.

With wide eye’s Rin watch in horror as the weight centered on the back part of the tsuba and with the sly click and hiss of steel his blade slipped from its saya like a snake from its hiding spot.

And then all he knew was the swell of warmth and singing of his fire as blue flames ignited the perpetual darkness that hung over Gehenna. It was unlike any other time he had pulled his sword, even the first time, when he unsealed his heart to escape the Gehenna Gate. The bonfire that erupted was more striking then the one he used against the Impure King, more intense then when he had fought Amaimon the second time around. It cradled him, it cackled joyfully in his now longer ears, it stretched out wispy tendrils eating the very air around him; he felt light.

Lighter than ever before.

Amazed at the rawness he felt, the sudden ease of which his flames answered his call he had all but forgotten everything else but the way his fire felt more tangible like he could mold it like dough. He had stretched out his uninjured arm to do just that it childlike curiosity when his injured arm twanged painfully like someone was trying to rip out the insides of his arm.

Feeling his stomach drop in nausea at the pain, gravity re-exerted itself suddenly, the giddy fluttering in his chest flitting away as his mind turned to the frightening realization he was still falling. Closing his eyes, he flailed in terror with the re-realization of the air rushing past his tumbling figure and the wind whipping his clothes and hair. A chill leeched into his very bones as all he could think was-

_Is this really how I’m going to die?_

* * *

 

His despair didn’t last even five seconds before something collided with his middle. Blinking open his eyes in surprise, at first the navy-haired child didn’t understand what he was seeing. In the luminous glow of his flames the strands of white hair rippling in the air looked as if they were made of pure flame—a fire so clean that it burned nearly see-through.

And then a voice smooth like granite and the hiss of a hearth’s fire met his ears.

“Ya know, there are better ways to end your Existence kid?”

Midnight blue irises met a molten teal that was almost gold, pinwheeled into three separate irises. That familiar red ember burned at the center of his eyes’ pupils as the skin around them crinkled in a kind smile. Some of the harsh weight around Rin’s middle lifted and the distance between him and the older male that had just appeared, opened, allowing him to finally see who had just presumably jumped off a fucking bridge after him.

The shock of the others appearance didn’t last long but the awe lingered. As the wind buffeted past them and with gravity dragging them closer and closer to the water below, the blue-eyed teen felt the solid grip the man had around his uninjured arm. Saw the amused grin on the other’s face, sharp cheekbones and wild, white hair whipping past his whimsical toga-like black and blue cloak in the gusting breeze. Silhouetted against the dark sky, that brilliantly dazzling man in nothing but his ridiculously large checkerboard pants and silver bangles that rattled familiarly like the teen’s delinquent-looking wallet chain back home seemed to be- To be-

“Are- Are you an Angel?”

The wind ripped the incredulous words right out of Rin’s mouth.

There was no answer but a single blink of the suddenly molten gold eyes.

Then a smile like the sun graced his vision as the other simply stated, “For you kid-” And then he used their momentum in a second to switch positions and holding the Half-Demon close whispered into his hair as he cradled the child in the safety of his arms, “Ah, I would be your anything…”

The sharp rapport as they collided with the water sounded like a glass sky-scrapper’s windows shattering to Rin’s ears and then there was nothing but water rushing into his mouth and the lull of his fire in his veins. The mysterious man’s words echoed in his ears, his hands wrapped around his body with something warm tugging at his heart.

_Who- who is he?_

The cold seeped through his body despite his flames biting his flesh and even the strangers’ warmth couldn’t hold the force of that river back. Gasping for air, black spots began to dot his vision and the ExWire panicked as he finally registered the water filling his lungs, strangling him, stealing his precious air as his limbs registered a numb pain like pin-needles piercing every inch of his body inside and out.

Idly, a part of his brain supplied that at the height they had fallen from no one could have survived hitting the water without numerous broken bones upon impact—not even a Demon even if they did have an extremely fast regen rate. That strange man had used his own body to break the majority of the water’s tension. Which was probably the only reason Rin’s own neck wasn’t snapped. But who just willing jumps off a bridge after someone they don’t even know?! _Oh- Right… I would…_  The irony wasn’t lost on him but still-

He was drowning, and he couldn’t help but thrash helplessly as the grip around his middle kept him from surfacing. In the murky darkness, even the light from his blue flames barely held the deep at bay. His good hand clutched Kurikara for dear life. He didn’t want to think what would happen if he let go of it as his awareness flickered in and out. If he made it out of this alive it would probably be lost forever in the river’s dark depths. He felt claustrophobic, trapped and as he consciousness began to slip away he mourned all the regrets he had left behind. Just as the last dregs of his light began to vanish and the grip on his sword wavered, a hand curled around his cheek. With the last of his will the navy-haired child simply relaxed into it, what else was there that he could do?

And then he could breath. His body felt light again, and a warmth unlike any other—more so then even his own flames—stole through him and seemed to cradled his heart gently. A slight flicker passed his closed eyes and the child thought that if he survived this he would never forget this warmth. Gulping greedily, his body reached frantically for more air. More warmth, more everything.

And then the water broke over his head and a pair of strong hands held the boy close as his head lolled on a broad shoulder. He felt weightless for a few seconds, the numbness almost as painful as actually being able to feel and his flames sparked weakly, tail curling around an appendage that didn’t belong to him. His Koumaken was pried from his limp hand but he didn’t have the strength to care, he simply laid in the other’s arms as his lungs ravenously stole air back into his blood, panting and hacking into the guy’s bare shoulder as his cloak was wrapped around him gently.

“Honestly, yer gonna give me an aneurysm…”

The gruff fondness was weird but the strangeness of the whole situation passed over the child’s head as he gasped for air, finally coughing up the last of the water that had forced its way into his throat. He didn’t have the current brain power needed to think about anything else but breathing.

“Oi, brat you better not go dying on me now!” A hand shook him slightly as if he was a glass doll. “Brat? Kiddo? Com’on, tell me I didn’t jump off a fucking bridge for nothin’!”

Exasperated by the man’s whining tone Rin grumbled past his sore throat and forced his heavy eyelids open. “S’not dead-”

He was immediately smothered by the much larger man’s arms more so then already and the strength of the other’s grip on his chest had his ribs squeaking in protest. “Itai! L-let go!” The grip loosened but didn’t disappear as the teen flailed. A wicked chuckle graced his ears and he froze, a shot of something like fear crawling down his spine. He knew that laugh. But- _It can’t be…_

“Now, why would I do somethin’ like that? I finally have you after all~”

Tilting his head back Rin once again found his vision obscured by white hair. He wrinkled his nose and attempted to wave it out of his face but a sharp pain lanced through his hand. Looking back down he blinked, glancing at his torn-up arm that he had temporarily forgotten about.

A sigh from the other was breathed past his own hair and a pale hand lifted his injured arm into the air, tearing a pained whimper from the kid. “Ever since I’ve known ya’ve been a walking beacon for disaster, just like _that_ women, always causing trouble for me...” The grip was gentle but when the man’s thumb swiped across the still sluggishly bleeding wound Rin couldn’t help the yelp that left his mouth and he tried to flinch away from the sharp, gleaming black talons on the man’s hands. “This should be healing by now especially after _that…_ Hmm~”

Annoyed with the man-handling—he had been tossed around and carried and all sort of other irritating things within the last few hours, he was tired, hungry and just so _done_ that he didn’t stop to think about that little white flag waving vigorously in the back of his head—the blue-eyed teen growled out drowsily, “Maybe if you stopped poking at it, it would!” Flopping further down in the man’s grip and not even bothering to hold his own weight anymore the ExWire groused sluggishly but mutinously into the fabric nearly choking him with its sheer volume, “And put me down, your gonna break my ribs!”

Never mind the fact that the guy had most definitely saved his life, he was getting all sorts of creeping chills from him now that his brain actually had oxygen flowing through it.

A reply was crooned far too close for Rin’s liking and a cheek met the teen’s, rubbing against his like a cat—just like Azazel had. “Eh? My, my you’ve sure gotten cheeker, kiddo~ Aww, your definitely my little firecracker~”

That dark chuckle made a reappearance and the hand underneath his thighs holding him up tightened so he couldn’t move. “How harsh! And here I thought you would be a bit more grateful to your Guardian Angel!” A slightly higher pitched giggle followed that statement but it was ignored in favor of the subject.

The declaration caught the teen by surprise and he finally looked up at the other sharply. “Wait- Yer- You’re not serious, are you?!”

The insidious smile full of teeth that greeted the child’s question and eyes made him choke down a whimper. Nothing, absolutely nothing worked out for him, did it? Why was he in this situation? Why did he have to fill just a tiny smidgen of thanks for this… This guy… He was that man, wasn’t he? Denial never worked for Rin either.

Taking great amusement from the turn of events the older man—Demon, this guy was a Demon among Demons! Rin’s brain supplied—hefted the bundled-up form of the younger higher in his arms.

“No, are you fucking stupid? Did your mind turn to mush dealing with all those insufferable Exorcists, idjit? Or have you always been this stupid?”

The annoying attitude of the man gnawed at the navy-haired kid’s budding horror—allowing him to suppress, suppress, suppress, he was so not thinking about what would happen to him or what had happened to him or that this would lead anywhere good for anybody and dammit! Rinjustwantedtogohomeandnotbenearthisthisthis… ** _beast._** But instead of getting angry Rin sucked the injustice of the world up once again and did as Rin always did during stressful moments. He improvised.

“Well…” Eyes drooping, he deadpanned, “Let me guess were fucking related. And since this is probably the first and only time I will get away with saying this, I thought you would be uglier. With, like horns.” Blinking past the blearily film called fatigue coating his tongue and eyes, the navy-haired teen just sighed. He resigned himself to his fate, the child was just too damn tired to be properly terrified or give a damn anymore—a right doesn’t make a wrong a…well, _right_ dammit! Just because this asshole to trump all other assholes jumped off a bridge to save him didn’t make up for everything else!  It didn’t make up the hell he been put through, it didn’t make up for his bad reputation, and it certainly would never make up for what he did to-to-

A yawn caught him before he could say anything else, a flicker of something moving too fast past his closed eyes to see properly. The pain arching through his body was beating a numbing staccato through his heart, dulling, removing barriers and loosening screws in the deadbolt of his thoughts. “Y-you…shouldn’t be allowed to do this. Isn’t there like…a rule against Satan…saving peo-ple…?”

His consciousness then snuffed out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww~ Ain't Rin just a little bundle of love~ Satan gets his long-awaited soliloquy next time on - DLB!


	6. Love at First Fight I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Satan's headspace is a very strange place. And does he even know how to use a cell phone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me reiterate.  
> Kids like me should be burning in...Hell. If I was a kid, lol. I've kept you guys waiting for awhile huh? RL got in the way but seeing your comments made my life relevant. Love all you weirdos!  
> Anyway, just remember from here on out this is still a GEN Fic and if I decide to add a few...uh, creepy interactions from certain Demon Gods that don't even know that personal space is a thing then keep your pants on. I'm looking at you, fangirls/boys. This is a family fic, so don't go bringing up anything you might have read on my Fanfiction.net account yo. I still blush at that hot mess...

        

 

**Chapter Six: Love At First Fight I**

* * *

**S** a **T** a **N**

* * *

 The kid was a pint and a half. Nothing more than a few quarts of blood and other nasty fluids. His flayed skin wouldn’t even amount to a descent bed sheet.

Still…

_He’s the fucking cutest little bugger I’ve seen in centuries…_

The shiver that nearly split his spine in two at the mere sight of _his_ flesh and blood wreathed in those Holy Flames- The fucking kid—who had just fallen off a bridge—was too stupidly engrossed in his own limb to see him at first but the child-like curiosity that lit his chubby face up even brighter than those brilliant azure embers nearly made Satan want to hug a kitten. He didn’t _do_ kittens. They were the spawns of Chaos. Sent to torment the souls of the damned.

He settled for clinging to his youngest son like a barnacle when they hit the water. Only then, once the rapids had swallowed them whole, had he allowed himself to laugh like the madman he knew he was. The motherfucking brat was a riot! _Angel?!_ Who the fuck _says_ something like that?!

The moment he had looked into his child’s eyes he knew. That startling blue that was almost purple where it met the red glint of the iris- For a second. No, it was just a _milli-_ second. Nothing and nobody will ever make him admit to more on the pain of eternal torture!

His Essence had hurt for that _milli_ -second.

And then the deadly sin of pride made him smile so wide his lips started to bleed where the flesh of them split. It burned. Made him want to crush the tiny little thing he held in his arms into paste and bath in it. Devour it. Meld it to his own being so tightly it would never even have the option of _leavingabadoningrunningaway_ from him. Remembering that the miserable little thing was about to black out he smashed their lips together to share air so the idiot didn’t drown on him, ruining all his hard work while silently crowing snidely to himself that he was the greatest gift to Creation since souls were invented.

Take that Order!

And eat your heart out Chaos, Balance ain’t so little anymore!

**_HE_** had made this tiny, delicate, _lovely_ thing. Him!!!

…E, Yuri had _helped_ —ok, **fine** she went through labor and _everything_ , jeez give that perverted woman a fucking medal—but _he_ had created this wonderful, miraculous thing of human flesh and Demon blood. Spent hours, days just spinning those little threads together, coaxing cells into life. Days. Weeks. Months. And, _of_ _fucking course-_ The moment he took his hands off it, the stupid little organism was turned to the dark side by that damn woman’s body—betrayal, outright fucking mutiny! He had made something exquisite, and he doesn’t fucking put that much effort into anything!

Just look at his other sons for fuck’s sake! Well, ok, that was a _bit_ much, he didn’t exactly have to do anything for them besides _exist—_ it wasn’t like he was doing anything important at the time, like, say fighting the forces of Chaos and his mother-fucking army—and let humanity sort the particulars of those fucker’s births out… He was nothing if not resourceful!

But one day…

It only took one day for his careful, motherfucking masterpiece to unravel.

He comes back to Consciousness and the stupid bitch all of a sudden was pregnant with twins!

He didn’t plan for twins. He didn’t _want_ twins. But the moment he tried to mould the two cells back together it felt like he had been bitch-slapped across the universe. He _still_ doesn’t know what happened. It was like the Maw of Perdition had opened and he had glimpsed into the heart of Hell—true Hell aka Tartarus, not what those pussy-assed humans thought Gehenna was—Gehenna was a fine-as-ass motherfucker, with a handsome-as-fuck face thank you very much.

Just thinking about the terror that had gripped him when he tried to melt those two little specks—they _were_ at the time, it wasn’t such a big fucking deal!—back into one made him hold the eldest child of the two to his chest tighter. The _other_ could just go…disappear somewhere. Far away from him.

Whatever old ass, crusty Eldritch _thing_ that had taken half of his carefully woven together—and fucking genius—cellular structure for the ultimate being, and spliced that _oddness_ into the currently—not for much longer, he grimly assumed if his spying had anything to say on that front—human one, should just jump straight into Tartarus where fucking abominations belonged. And if he, the fucking badass of the universe was saying _that_ then it meant **_something_** dammit!

He had lived over several billion years by humanities calendar count—when they even started using the damn thing—but he had never felt that tingle of _wrongness_ when he had laid attention upon that second sack of enzymes. Someone, _something_ had fucked with his design and it had him _pissed._ That little mass of tissue and fluid wasn’t _that_ bad to look at, hell, anything that originated from Yuri was entitled to be _more than easy on the eyes_ but _anything_ that could sneak past him right under his nose was up to no fucking good! Who cared if it was all Yuri’sYuri’sYuri’s?! The Demon God detested things he could not unravel, and that kid had some sort of anti-everything field plastered across its very being that even _he_ could barely penetrate!

Yuri had just fucking cooed when he explained this _very_ logical urge to stash the _thing_ somewhere far away from Creation itself before it like, devoured Existence itself…and started knitting a second set of baby booties… The first pair had looked like they could be sleeping bags for midget anacondas. Though, that wouldn’t have been so far from what their attended purpose was...he thinks. He couldn’t quite understand the human textbooks and research papers on genetics enough to piece together how his original creation _would_ have gloriously emerged if it had just stayed as a single fucking organism like it was told to!

It had to have a tail. Every Demon had a motherfucking tail. And breath fire. He had copied a manticore’s impervious skin coda into the DNA somewhere too.

Of course, knowing that bitch, she probably swiped some of his genius ideas and fucked with them while he wasn’t looking. She was just as curious as he was about Life in the Universe.

He still says it’s her fault she had _twins._ Demon Gods—aka just this one fine specimen of a God—didn’t have _twins._ That was not how things worked. No, just- **No. He had _enough_ damn sons already! _He didn't want to be a single dad anymore!!!  
_**

While all this was running through his head, the white-haired fiend simultaneously freed both himself and the dazed brat from the rushing rapids of the river, kicked off the surface of it and proceeded to tease the fuck out of him when he landed on the bridge that was still tilted at an impossible angle for anyone to walk on unless their name was S-A-mutherfuckin’-T-A-N.

The inexplicable—and from any human’s perspective, downright cringe-worthy—joy that came from holding his son in his arms had the slightly—alright, definitely—unhinged Demon God skipping while rocking the finally unconscious teen like he was a two-year-old. The blasted cursed piece of junk that sealed his cute baby’s Heart away wrapped haphazardly in one of the chains trailing from his pants.

He would deal with the other object he found in the wreckage in a moment but first…

* * *

It was from this scene that the Demon Kings finally settled their squabbling and decided to not ruin the magnanimous mood of their dear overlord and father as he approached them, not a single drop of water soaking either of them anymore.

Iblis was the first to gain control of himself as per usual and stepping forward, bowed low, tone soft and posture submissive. “F-Father! To think you would grace us with your presence!”

Egyn would normally let him do all the talking but his regular jitteriness coupled with the nervous twitching at the sight of their supreme Overlord whistling happily made him whisper, “He’s lost his marbles… Iggy, he’s lost them! Completely this time. Iggy? Iggy! Does this mean I am the _third_ most insane in Gehenna now? Iggyyyyyyy~ Stop _ignoring_ meeee!!!”

Astaroth was sweating buckets after having released his full Demonic form making the flowing garments he wore nearly translucent from the perspiration. Despite the fact he was still carrying the limp Azazel over his shoulder he helpfully smashed his free and now normal-sized fist into Egyn’s pie hole hoping to shut him up before he got them all battered and deep fried for their Lord Father’s eating pleasure. Pan seared or blackened was still on the table as well and the King of Rot was certain that he liked the current state of brown his skin sported and not say…dark as **charcoal** and _melting_ off his bones, thank you very much!

The white-haired Demon walked closer and closer, his chains clacking like a funeral hearse's fucked up suspension until he was right in front of the three Demon Kings, not even deigning to glance at them, his eyes only on the small curled up figure he held.

They all stiffened further at the now visible manic grin splashed across the man’s face and waited for the punishment they silently knew they deserved for letting their grudge match irresponsibly distract them from catching their youngest brother.

And then he kept walking.

Not even looking at them.

Whistling.

And…cooing at the kid in his arms.

They blinked, flabbergasted and glanced side to side at each other in panicked confusion.

And then the hammer dropped. Satan was just evil like that.

“Which ever one of ya asshats caused this rusted-ass bridge to finally fall the fuck apart is gonna stand guard duty to the entrance of the fuckin' Necropolis for a fortnight.”

The warped deity kept walking completely aware of their horrified faces staring at his retreating back while he snickered maliciously. “Alone.”

And then he was gone, leaving the four Demon Kings to their second bloodbath of that day.

“Iblis.”

“Iblis.”

“Asta- Wait?! W-what?! Egyn???!!!”

“Sorry bro, but I’m already cookoo enough, I’ll do a haaaaaard pass on the gate to that creepy as fuck bone yard!” Holding up a peace sign, the flighty Demon King backed away slowly.

“Seconded, plus, anyone can see the melted slag that used to be the bridge’s main support.” Face deadpanned and acting abnormally congenial towards his hated big brother, Astaroth clapped the older on the shoulder consolingly. Then heaving the still passed out couch-potato Azazel higher onto his shoulder, sauntered off with his free hand tucked into his robes without looking back.

“Tha-! It was hardly- Egyn!! Are you seriously going to-” But as the flabbergasted Demon King swung around to man-handle his idiotic younger brother, he instead only found a slip of parchment impaled on a piece of crooked rebar in his place. “Take...his side-?!”

[“Sucks to suck.”]

**_“AAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH I’m gonna fucking kill you bastards!!!!!”_ **

* * *

 [Events in Assiah after Azazel’s Ominous Question…]

* * *

{“Well, you know children Azazel, he _was_ raised by _Fujimoto Shirou_ after all~ Am I to be held responsible for every child acting like one and traipsing himself on adventures across dimensions? Shirou was far worse as kid you know…} Giving a sly look towards the others in the room the Demon King added with a hint of wryness, {At least this one isn’t trying to start a war… Or need I remind you of Shirou’s none too subtle declaration of hostilities against all of Demon kind?”}

This was the answer Samael, the Demon King of Time gave. He thought he was being quite reasonable. And patient, given the fact he could hear the wind howling in tandem with Azazel’s growing rage across the phone line.

But honestly… Every single last one of them! Samael was a Demon who revelled in chaos but that didn’t mean he liked it when things went spiralling out of his admittingly very vast control! Deviation was fine and all, but why must everyone be so- _So_ _difficult!_ _Okumura Rin really is without a doubt…a being that can shake the very foundations of what is possible and impossible…_ If he hadn’t been in the presence of both the Grigori and his own subordinates Mephisto would have grimaced and allowed his quietly seething anger to show but alas...

Still on speaker phone, everyone could hear the piercing whistling of the raging storm across the line and thus they also heard it die down into a silly but damning exclamation from the ditzy albino.

{“I see. I had forgotten, how is Shirou by the way?!~ We haven’t talked in ages! That rascal, he’s probably busy flipping women’s skirts and what not! ~”}

Blinking in consternation, Samael wondered if it would be too cruel to give the semi-lifeless husk the other portion of said Spirit King inhabited a good and thorough _flaying._ Before he could reply though-

“What is the meaning of this Sir Pheles? Is that truly Azazel-san?”

Not giving even a second to parse the stupidity that was his younger brother, the Demonic man sighed, a long-suffering expression seizing its chance to settle on the usually grinning visage. Turning to face the mint and forest green robe-clad man who was actually the stand-in for said idiot of a brother on the Grigori’s council he levelled a deadpan look their _Honors_ way. “Yes, just like the crystalized mound of sand and limestone you stand vigil over is. Just because he returned to nature doesn’t mean he is outside of Satan’s purview.”

Yukio was the next to start flinging questions. “Wait? What?! There is another Demon King working for you?” Gritting his teeth in frustration, the beryl-eyed boy felt his head swim with every new revelation. _None of this makes any sense!_

“A-and he knew Father too?!” Becoming angrier by the minute, the already deeply disturbed Okumura twin stalked forward intent on shaking the answers out of the Demon in front of him if it was the last thing he could do, damn the consequences! _AniisAllmy_ **fault** _WhyWhydidthishaveto_ happen _I **should** havestoppedhim!I **shouldhave** stoppedhim **Ishouldhavestopped**_ **him!!!**

Sensing the building desperation and emotion clouding his young charge’s mind, the amethyst-haired man placed his hands up in a placating manner towards the advancing teen’s form, wheedling, “Now, now Okumura-sensei there is no need for aggression I’m sure once things die down we can talk properly but right now-”

Shaking his head in distress the brunet growled, latching onto the phone in the older man’s hand. “Never mind! _Just shut up!_ What does it _even_ matter?! You won’t give me a straight answer anyway! If the Demon King of Spirits is on your side **_make_** him help Ani! **_Before it’s too late!”_**

The metallic noise of a blade being levelled behind his back caused the teen to look behind himself in shock, momentarily snapped out of his crushing self-loathing, “Now hold on, just a fuckin’ minute! I know you got a lot on your plate right now, four-eyes, but Mephisto needs to explain just what’s he’s playin’ at! He obviously knows more of what’s going on than we do!”

Another blade slammed down onto the concrete floor from the tables direction, the until now silent Paladin throwing in his concerns as well into the quickly devolving argument. “Yes, do pray tell, what is it you are up to? If I remember correctly, Phantom Trains fall under your list of Kin, **_Demon,_** I find it hard to believe there was nothing you could do to stop this from occurring?” A steel-like glint shone in his hard grey eyes. “Unless this was your plan all along? To deliver the Son of Satan to Gehenna right under our noses after allowing him to spy on our operations?”

Sighing in a previously hidden tone of aggravation, Mephisto bit out, “I think all of you are forgetting the most important thing here. No matter whose fault it was or what caused it, Okumura Rin is now in Gehenna! And Satan will without a doubt-”

_o **H** ~ D **i** D **s** O **m** E **o** N **e** R **i** N **g**?_

The ethereal voice that came from the other side startled everyone. Within seconds the very air chilled, a silent terror invading the room.

**_W_ ** _e **L** l **,** W **e** L **l,** **W** h **O** i **S** t **H** i **S**? **~** a **N** e **X** o **R** c **I** s **T**? **O** r **M** a **B** y **E** m **Y** w **A** y **W** a **R** d **S** o **N**?_

Swallowing hard Samael felt a drop of sweat fall but did not utter a word. There was nothing he _could_ actually get out really.

There existed prey and predator…but this entity was beyond such things as Life and Death. The breadth of its abnormality always laid like an all-consuming black hole’s gravity upon Samael’s mind, invoking a silent terror that made him almost pity humankind's near perpetual state as _food._

“Y-you-!” The brunette on the other hand nearly dropped the phone out of shear horror, the blood leaving his face turned the teen’s a shade paler than a corpse.

**T** e **L** l **S** a **M** m **Y** d **E** a **R** e **S** t **T** h **A** n **K** ’ **S** f **O** r **T** h **E** l **O** v **E** l **Y** g **I** f **T** ~ **A** s **F** o **R** t **H** e **R** e **S** t **O** f **Y** o **U**. **.**.

And then the phone burst into blue flames, molten plastic and burnt bits of electronics scattering every which way explosively.

**h** E **’s** M **i** N **e.**

Yukio let it drop from his hand more from instinct than any real desire to let his last link to his twin go.

**S** o **Y** o **U** a **L** l **C** a **N** d **I** E **n** O **w** ~

The room was silent, the last words that had rung from the mobile hanging sinisterly in the air.

“Nii- ...san?”

Yukio stared blankly, brokenly at the last remaining wisps of fire devouring his phone not moving even after it finally snuffed itself out, the silence deafening.

Shiemi was first to reach for him, one hand covering her mouth and tears pulling in her chartreuse-eyes. “Y-Yuki-”

He stiffened, fingers clenching till they turned white from the force exerted on them before whirling around, a fire in his eyes that had never shown itself to anyone but his own mirror reflection. It was an expression that would not have looked out of place on Satan’s own face.  “What?! What is it that you could possibly say?! Some meaningless platitude? Some stupid condolence? Grow up! Nii-san is-! He’s-! He’s as good as dead!”

The blonde girl took a step back, hurt by the rage she could see on his face, and struggling to not let her tears fall she squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and choking back tears, did what she had to through her haze of tears. “Yuki, Rin wouldn’t want this-”

"Oh, and you know what he wants?!" Face marred by disgust the young Exorcist snapped before laughed hollowly, "Oh, fuck you-!"

And then she slapped him, face scrunched up, tears finally falling down her flushed cheeks and knees knocking. “Stop this!" But still, the blonde continued to hold that fierce look of determination in her emerald eyes.

"He’s not! Rin won’t!” She suppressed a sob and hiccupped, “H-He’s strong! S-strong enough to fight! And to win!” Shoulders shaking and chocked cries causing her lips to wobble, the forest green-eyed teen shook her head viciously, fingers twisting into her plated skirt tightly, voice trembling but her words resounding with her iron belief, “Rin will make it back! You can’t give up! Rin wouldn’t if it was you!”

Clutching shredded red fabric that was the only thing left behind of Rin’s to her chest, she sniffed, mouth set in a hard line before looking the grieving man in front of her in his grieving, lost eyes, belief shining strongly therein. “He will. Because that’s- That’s just the kind of person he is!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, welp. We already knew I was a burning pile of trash in a garbage can. Also: TRUST NO ONE.


End file.
